A thug who scarred a shopkeeper for life in a botched robbery attempt has been caged.

Jordan Dewar, 29, slashed convenience store owner Jugtar Gill with a box knife after demanding cash.

He was caught after being knocked down by a moving bin lorry as he fled from the shop in Dalry, North Ayrshire, on February 5, 2021.

Dewar, who is currently serving the remainder of a previous prison sentence after breaching his licence conditions by committing the new offence, was handed an extended sentence at the High Court in Livingston on Thursday.

Judge Lord Weir imposed a five year prison sentence backdated to February this year as punishment, followed by a further three years on licence in the community following his release.

He warned Dewar that if he breached the conditions of his licence following his release he would be recalled to prison again to serve the balance of the new sentence behind bars.  

Dewar earlier pleaded guilty at the High Court in Glasgow to assaulting Mr Gill to his severe injury and permanent disfigurement and attempting to rob him.

The court heard Mr Gill was working alone in the shop when Dewar entered with his hood up and asked for cigarettes and £80 cash back.

He produced a yellow box cutting knife and said to Mr Gill “Give me the f***ing money”.

As Mr Gill tried to grab both of Dewar’s arms he slashed the shop owner to his left forearm causing a deep wound.

Mr Gill grabbed a bottle as Dewar’s hood fell down and his face became visible. Dewar saw the cut to Mr Gill’s arm and said something like “oh you’ve been cut” and left the premises. 

He ran into the road where he was struck by a moving bin lorry, picked himself up and moved to the other side of the street where he collapsed before getting back up, apparently uninjured, and running off.

He was still “out of breath” when police tracked him down at his home shortly afterwards. 

Mr Gill was taken to hospital for treatment for a deep gash on his left forearm which required 18 stitches and will leave a permanent scar.

Dewar, from Dalry, admitted multiple previous convictions which include sentences for assault to injury, robbery and attempted robbery.

Defence counsel Lorraine Glancy said the accused had taken Ketamine for the first time on the day of the robbery bid and the powerful horse tranquilliser had had an “extremely adverse effect” on him.

She claimed he remembered little of the attack on the shopkeeper – who was known to him because it was his local store – or of the events of the following two days.

She revealed Dewar, who had been diagnosed with ADHD at a young age, had started abusing drugs when he was 12-years-old and started using opiates in his 20s.

She said he was alienated from his family and from the mothers of his two children so was expecting no visitors while serving his prison sentence.

She asked to take account of the fact that despite having a significant criminal record Dewar had taken responsibility.

Passing sentence, Lord Weir told Dewar he took account of his troubled upbringing and his “chaotic lifestyle” but also that his attitude towards the social work interview process had been “hostile”.

He added: “It’s also apparent not just from the nature of the offence but from your previous convictions that you continue to present a high risk of reoffending in the community.

“You’ll appreciate that a prison sentence is inevitable to secure the public from serious harm when you are released."