A DUTCH national who entered Greenock police station carrying knives in a bid to be deported to his home country has been jailed.

Repeat blade offender Sean Bontje walked into the Rue End Street office on March 3 this year in possession of two blades.

The 32-year-old wanted to be arrested by officers, according to his lawyer, who said that the alarming incident was a 'cry for help'.

Bontje, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to the offence of having the blades without reasonable excuse or lawful authority and was given a prison sentence.

Greenock Sheriff Court was told that his previous convictions meant that an alternative to custody was not deemed suitable punishment.

Solicitor Aidan Gallagher told the court: "It was a cry for help; he was homeless, with no money, no job and really no prospects here.

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"His thinking was that if he were to get himself arrested that might facilitate his deportation back to the Netherlands.

"That is why he went into the police station with that article.

"It was for no other reason that he went to the police station and he made it plainly clear to the police and pleaded guilty at the first opportunity."

Last year, Bontje was found guilty by a sheriff of carrying a knife on a Greenock street after police carrying out a stop and search recovered the blade and £2,000 in cash, which he claimed had come from a flat renovation job.

Sheriff James Varney told Bontje: "Your previous conviction means that custody is at the forefront of my mind.

"There is no alternative."

Bontje was sentenced to six months in jail backdated to March 4 this year, when he was remanded in custody on the matter.