AN ARDROSSAN man has been jailed after stealing a bundle of electrical items from his own neighbour - five years after he himself was the victim of a brutal kidnapping and assault.

John Alcroft, 30, was sentenced to six months in prison after stealing a laptop, a PS3, two mobile phones, a camera controller, two watches, a bank card and a tin full of cash from a house in McDowell Place on November 7 this year.

Alcroft, also of McDowell Place, appeared from custody last week at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court where he was also charged with stealing a speaker and an SD card from Asda in Ardrossan on the same day and possession of a Class A drug.

But the court heard that Alcroft had experienced difficulties after being victim to a serious kidnapping and assault in 2012.

The then 25-year-old was abducted by Mark Douglas, then 34, and Peter Welsh, then 48, who held him captive for two days whilst they “blow torched” his face with a lit deodorant spray, threw chemicals at him and put soap powder in a stab wound.

The pair also gave Alcroft electric shocks from a battery attached to crocodile clips, leaving him with horrific injuries including burns, stab wounds and facial fractures - all because Alcroft allegedly owed the pair money. Representing Alcroft, Simon Brown told the court his client struggled to cope with what had happened to him which led to him becoming dependent on drugs.

He told the court: “Mr Alcroft suffered a significant and traumatic serious assault in the past which is how he has come to use the substances he uses. You have to go back to 2000 to find any similar previous convictions of dishonesty.”

Mr Brown asked Sheriff Michael Hanlon to consider his client’s troubled background when sentencing him, pleading with him to avoid a jail sentence.

He said: “He has appeared from custody and his time there has given him some cause for reflection. He wants to break this cycle of criminal activity and prison. He would be in a position to do community service, however the family home is somewhat over crowded and he stays with friends a lot so a a restriction of liberty order might not be the best course of action.”

However Sheriff Hanlon said he had “no alternative” than to jail Alcroft.

He said: “We have some sympathy as to the experience you have gone through but I don’t think that’s any excuse for to suggest that a custodial sentence is not appropriate here.

“As a result of your actions, I really don’t see any alternative to a custodial sentence. I sentence you to six months imprisonment dating back to November 8.”