A BRAZEN booze thief grabbed two large bottles of vodka from the counter of a Port convenience store after pretending to fumble in his pockets for money.

William King, 22, snatched the pair of litre-sized items from the Supersave outlet on Cromdale Road and told staff to ‘call the polis’ as he ran off.

But he didn’t get to drink any of the stolen alcohol after a sharp-eyed customer spotted a pal of King’s asleep on a patch of grass with both bottles at his side — and promptly returned them to the shop.

Prosecutor Lauren McGonigal told Greenock Sheriff Court: “The accused went to the counter and asked for two one litre bottles of Glen’s vodka.

“He was asked if he had money to pay for them and he replied that he did.

“A staff member placed the bottles on the counter while the accused appeared to search his pockets for money.

“He didn’t have any and grabbed the bottles.” King committed the lunchtime offence on 13 September last year.

He was later spotted staggering around near the shop by police.

Fiscal depute Miss McGonigal said: “He was clearly under the influence of alcohol or another substance and was unable to care for himself.

“The accused was not cautioned and charged due to his intoxicated state.” In a separate incident last November, King sparked an emergency 999 call after threatening to kill his father at a house in Port Glasgow’s Teviot Road.

When police arrived at the scene, he told officers: “I’m out of my face on acid, man.” Prosecutor David Simpson previously told the court: “Police entered the property to find the accused in an agitated state, pacing back and forth and chewing on his lips.

“He became increasingly irrational.” King, pictured above, told social workers preparing a pre-sentencing background report on him that he wouldn’t obey any court orders aimed at keeping him out of jail.

Defence lawyer Andrew Kennedy said: “He is immature. On the day of the interview he said things he didn’t mean.” Sheriff Derek Hamilton told King: “I will give you one chance with a community payback order, with an 18-month supervision requirement. If you mess people around, this matter will default to the original report that you won’t comply with anything, and that means custody.” King, of Teviot Road, is due back in court for a progress report hearing on 22 July.