A bus passenger stole a fellow traveller’s mobile phone.
Thomas Gillon saw the device lying unattended on a seat and grabbed it as he got off.
Gillon, 38, of Allershaw Place, Gowkthrapple, admitted stealing the phone after making no effort to find the owner.
Hamilton Sheriff Court heard this week that the “opportunist” theft happened in Overtown on October 25.
A woman put the phone down on a seat as she paid her fare and forgot to pick it up.
Emma McGinley, prosecuting, told the court: “The accused took the phone from the seat as he was leaving the bus.
“The woman then noticed it was missing.
“She informed the driver who advised her to contact the police and explained that CCTV was in operation.”
The phone, valued at £650, was not recovered.
Gillon has previous convictions for shoplifting and fraud.
Defence agent Stephen MacBride said: “This was an opportunist theft.
“The phone was lying on a seat and my client should have left it there, but he didn’t.”
Sheriff Linda Nicolson ordered Gillon to pay £425 towards the cost of a replacement phone.
