A SHOPLIFTER who stole groceries from a Kilmacolm store while on a bail order has been jailed for more than five months.

John McElwee, who is currently fully committed in a separate case, was locked up for 163 days after pleading guilty to nicking food and drink worth £26.50 from the village’s Co-op.

McElwee, 50, took the unrecovered items from the Lochwinnoch Road shop on July 19 last year.

He was subject to bail conditions from an August 2022 court order at the time of the offence.

Solicitor Aidan Gallagher told Greenock Sheriff Court last week that his client’s ‘situation has moved on’ since the offence, and he will be in custody ‘for the foreseeable future’.

Sheriff Anthony McGeehan said he had no alternative other than to sentence McElwee to a period of imprisonment.