A man who stole a purse left unattended on the back of a motorcycle and then used the Visa card, cheque book and driver?s licence within the purse to fraudulently buy thousands of dollars worth of goods, has been given a two-year jail sentence.

Marvin Lee Woolridge, 44, formerly of Loyal Hill Pass, Devonshire, is already serving a three-year prison term for stalking and a number of other dishonesty offences committed earlier this year and the two years behind bars imposed by Chief Justice Richard Ground will be served concurrently with that jail time.

The divorced father-of-three pleaded guilty to taking the purse that had been left overnight on the back of a bike parked in Cobbs Hill Road, Paget, on January 18 this year. Inside the purse was a HSBC Visa card, a cheque book and a driver?s licence belonging to the woman owner of the bike.

Over the next three days Woolridge went on a shopping spree with the bank card and cheque book buying a 21-inch Sony TV worth $1,600 one day, two laptop computers worth $1,850 the following day, and then purchasing a 32-inch LCD Sharp TV worth $3,189 on the third day.

Crown counsel Paula Tyndale gave details of the crimes to the court and explained how Woolridge had tricked the shop assistants on each occasion into thinking he was authorised to use the stolen bank card and cheque book.

On the first occasion he persuaded the shop teller that he was ?involved? with a white girl and was buying the TV using a cheque signed by her and he showed the driver?s licence as identity to support the cheque.

And on the following two occasions he was accompanied into the stores by a woman whom shop assistants assumed was the woman whose name appeared on the bank card and cheque book.

However, within a matter of days Woolridge had been arrested by Police and confessed to taking the purse and using its contents to dishonestly obtain the electrical goods. He was also positively identified in an identity parade by the shop staff who had served him.

Woolridge pleaded guilty to one count of stealing and three counts each of forgery, uttering a false document and obtaining property by false pretences.

Lawyer Charles Richardson, who represented him in court, said: ?It is clear these offences were part of a spree that started in January and ended with the offences that were dealt with in the Magistrates? Court. The break-up with his wife acted as a trigger and led to him using drugs which manifested itself in the thefts.?

And addressing Mr. Justice Ground, Woolridge said: ?I want to apologise to the victims and the establishments affected by my dishonesty.?

He said he was not making excuses, but felt a mitigating factor in his wanting to use drugs and committing the crimes was the break-up of his marriage.

?I feel bad as I look back. The drugs came into play. I was married for four years and was doing great. I?d last been released from prison in June 2000. All the dishonesty was committed within the same time when I was going through my addiction, but I stand here clean and sober.?

Pleading for leniency, Woolridge said he had three sons aged 15, 18 and 19 and wanted to ?get out there for them and show them not to do the same things?.

Mr. Justice Ground gave Woolridge a six-month prison term for the stealing offence and two years each for all the other dishonesty offences, ordering them to be served concurrently with each other and also concurrent with the three-year jail sentence imposed at Magistrates? Court last month for stalking offences.

Once released he will be subject to a two-year probation order that includes an agreement to undergo residential drug treatment programmes if required, to submit to random drug testing and to obey a curfew between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.