A man has been jailed for 18 more months after keeping a pair of scissors in his cell at HMP Kilmarnock.

John Paul Thomson, 32, who lived in Cheriot Way, Irvine, pleaded guilty to one charge at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court on April 2.

Thomson is currently serving a seven-and-a-half-year sentence at the prison for his part in an attempted robbery attempt in Crosshouse.

The court heard that on February 17, 2022, he was housed within A-hall in the prison when officers searched his shared cell based on intelligence received.

Officers discovered a pair of scissors underneath his mattress, with the blades around four inches in length.

Thomson’s lawyer told the court that he had little mitigation to offer. He said that Thomson had received the scissors as part of a barbers set, and accepts he should have informed officers of this.

Sentencing, Sheriff Nicola Patrick said: “Your record of violence involving blades and weapons is horrendous. There is no way I can deal with you other than by a sentence.”

He was sentenced to 18 months in prison.