A 'SCUMBAG' thief took his dead friend's bank card just hours after his passing and blew more than £3,000 on drugs and booze.

Steven Forteath went on a nine-day spending binge with Paul McIntosh's money, carrying out 36 transactions at cash machines and shops.

Forteath — who raided Mr McIntosh's account to the tune of £3,357 — was today branded 'a dirty rat' by the dead man's daughter.

Grieving Melissa McIntosh told the Telegraph: "He deserves to rot."

Forteath, 49, has been locked up after pleading guilty to carrying out the series of crimes, which were described by a sheriff as 'utterly despicable'.

Greenock Sheriff Court heard how the thief swiped the debit card after Mr McIntosh, 57, collapsed at his home in the town and later died.

Dad-of-two Forteath's lawyer, Edward Sweeney, said: "He tells me that he spent the money variously on drugs, alcohol and personal items."

Melissa said: "Forteath is nothing but a dirty, thieving, lowlife scumbag.

"My dad wasn't even cold and he'd started spending.

"He says he went to the shop and came back and dad wasn't well so he tried to give him CPR while the ambulance was on its way.

"I can't imagine how someone you supposedly care about is lying dead and you start stealing from them."

A total of £3,010 was stolen from ATMs at shops throughout Greenock and Forteath used the card to buy £347 worth of goods from various other outlets in the town between February 4 and 13 last year.

He then vanished and later told police, after officers caught up with him last July, that he couldn't remember any of it.

CCTV footage from premises where Forteath had been using the debit card clearly identified him.

Solicitor Mr Sweeney said: "These are unusually serious charges."

Sheriff Derek Hamilton interjected: "Not only are they unusually serious, they are also utterly despicable.

"A man dies and your client takes his card and, within a period of nine days, raids his bank account for more than £3,000."

After reading a background report on Forteath, the sheriff said: "Not only that, his attitude is that it just doesn't matter because the bank will pay the money back."

Mr Sweeney said his client was now prepared to make instalments of £100 per months from his 'relatively healthy' benefits income, however, this was rejected by the sheriff who said that prison was the only appropriate way of dealing with him.

Sheriff Hamilton told Forteath: "You used this card 36 times over a nine-day period and you claim not to recall using it. Well, I simply don't believe that.

"Your attitude is disgraceful, your view is that the bank will pay it back so why should you worry about it.

"Almost a year on from your arrest you have done nothing to repay it, and only now do you offer to do so."

The sheriff added: "You have previous convictions for dishonesty, and notably in 2012 you received a substantial custodial sentence in England of 26 months for marriage fraud, perjury and immigration and visa offences that you gained financially from.

"It seems to me that you will stop at nothing to satisfy your financial greed."

The sheriff sentenced Forteath to six months imprisonment and told him that it would have been nine months were it not for his guilty plea.

Melissa said that it was 'amazing' to know that the thief is now languishing in a jail cell.

But she declared: "Unfortunately it won't be for long enough, but karma will find him."

She also paid tribute to her mechanical engineer dad — who travelled the world during his career before he fell ill with 'welder's lung', a condition which can cause Parkinson's-like symptoms.

Melissa said: "He was good and kind-hearted man, too kind for his own good at times."

She added: "Forteath befriended him after they met through dog walking.

"He used to go to my dad and ask him for money and dad would give him money.

"My dad would feed him as well — he would never see anyone go hungry.

"Forteath just sponged off him and took advantage of my dad's good nature.

"I always felt in my gut that something just wasn't right about him.

"My dad was getting weaker and all along he was planning to steal from him.

"But it's still so hard to come to terms with what he did after dad passed away."