A Johnstone man stole high-tech camera equipment from his doctor father and nurse mother and then pawned it to feed his drug addiction.

Kieran Rodger stole from his parents, who are both employed by the NHS, three separate times last year, pilfering goods worth £1,373.

On one occasion, the 20-year-old duped his mum and dad in to leaving their home, saying he urgently needed their help.

And once they had left their £200,000 semi-detached home in Renfrew, he snuck in and stole more than £700-worth of their possessions.

Rodger is now facing up to five years behind bars after admitting his guilt on Monday.

The offences mark the latest instalment in a criminal career which began when he was caught with a £1,500 Valium haul when he was aged just 15.

Rodger admitted three charges of stealing from his parents’ home in the burgh town’s King George Park Avenue.

Procurator fiscal depute Scot Dignan told Paisley Sheriff Court that Rodger stole from his parents once in May and twice in June last year. He said: “The accused is the son of the witnesses David and Julie Anne Rodger, who reside at the locus with their two young children.

“The accused was staying at the locus infrequently since May 1, 2015.”

In June, Rodger’s father David, who was a doctor at the Southern General and is now believed to work at the new Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, noticed property was missing from their home.

The worried mum and dad then confronted their son about the fact that a television, a guitar amplifier, a watch, a power charger, a hard drive and a camera lens were missing.

Dignan explained: “The accused lied to his parents, stating two males had demanded money he had owed them and he took the property to pay.”

On June 19 last year, Julie Anne Rodger, who is a nurse at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, was sitting in her living room at around 2.30pm.

She saw Kieran enter the house via the back door and spoke to him briefly before he disappeared out of her view.

A short while later, he said he had to go, and left the property.

He bumped into his dad at the bottom of the street, who noticed Kieran was carrying a drawstring bag.

And when his dad got home he noticed that a camera and an iMac Trackpad – a sophisticated piece of photo editing equipment – were missing.

A week later, on June 26 last year, Kieran struck again, stealing camera equipment from his father, after tricking his parents into leaving the house.

Police were contacted and they attended Cash Converters where they were presented with a list of items Rodger had pawned which, Dignan explained, “were all items from his parents’ home.”

Defence solicitor advocate Chris McKenna said of Rodger : “There has been a drug problem and he’s undergoing treatment for that, with some degree of success.

After noting that Kieran was already subject to a Community Payback Order (CPO) imposed in another case, Sheriff Ireland called for him to be assessed by social workers ahead of sentencing and adjourned the case until next month.

Rodger was previously in court for conning a schoolboy into buying non-existent tickets to see The Killers playing in Glasgow.

And he also stole £190 after targeting three women as they made withdrawals from cash machines in Paisley.

He was told to complete 165 hours’ unpaid work in 12 months when sentenced for the offences in March last year.