A TATTOO proved the downfall of a jewellery thief who snatched rings worth £11,000 from a York shop.

James Colin Evans, 32, grabbed the two valuable ornaments while staff at TCJ Designs in Stonegate dealt with a customer more than a year ago, York Crown Court heard.

But CCTV recorded a distinctive tattoo on the side of his head and police tracked him down.

Now he is starting two years and nine months in jail.

It was the fourth time the gambler had raided jewellers shops to fund his betting.

In 2005, he was jailed for 15 months at Lincoln Crown Court for three raids.

"This is shoplifting with a difference," said Judge Paul Hoffman, as he jailed Evans.

Evans, formerly of Saxby Street, Leicester, pleaded guilty to theft.

Nick Worsley, prosecuting, said Evans "scouted the land" at TCJ Designs at noon on November 1 last year.

Three hours later, he was back in the shop. He grabbed two rings from a window display and fled.

One of the rings was worth about £7,000, the other £4,000.

His barrister, Andrew Semple, said he was caught because he had a unique tattoo on the side of his head, which police spotted on CCTV footage.

"He found himself homeless, living in York in a hostel with a desperate gambling addiction, and reverted back to the old ways to get money," said Mr Semple.

Evans's gambling was his way of coping with childhood abuse. It had led to him living "from pillar to post" and culminated in the Lincoln sentence.

On his release, he had got counselling to tackle both the gambling and the issues raised by his traumatic childhood. He also got stable accommodation.

But then his uncle left him a £10,000 inheritance, and finding himself for the first time with money to spare, he succumbed to temptation and started gambling again.