Kieran Kiely, who previously played for Greenock Morton, Clyde FC and Partick Thistle reserves, had a promising sporting career ahead of him as a teenager.

But now, aged 21, he faces a long stretch behind bars after hanging up his boots and turning to crime.

Kiely targeted his first victim after he saw him leave a shop in a Renfrewshire street last November and ran at the 66-year-old before demanding he hand over the keys to his Audi TT.

The two men then started to grapple – but Kiely’s victim soon dropped his keys fearing he would be stabbed after spotting that his aggressor was armed with a blade.

Kiely then jumped in the driver’s seat and make good his escape in the stolen sports car.

Just days later he struck again and, along with James Lang, 21, stole a BMW from two brothers after pulling them from their vehicle as they were eating ice-cream in a Helensburgh car park — leaving them badly shaken.

Last week the duo appeared in the dock at Dumbarton Sheriff Court after their crimes finally caught up with them.

Malcolm Macleod, fiscal depute, said around 3pm on a rainy Saturday last November Kiely’s first victim had driven his Audi TT — worth more than £30,000 — to the corner shop to buy a lottery ticket.

After leaving a shop, in Renfrew’s Wright Street, Kiely ran at the man and demanded “give me your car keys”.

A struggle ensued between the two men during which Kiely’s victim noticed he had a knife in his right hand.

Mr McLeod said: “Thinking he was about to be stabbed he dropped his car keys on to the ground.” Kiely then picked up the keys with his free hand and got into the car with two other people before driving off as the car’s owner ran into the shop to phone the police.

The car was eventually found by police around 9.30am the following day in Glasgow with hundreds of pounds of damage inflicted.

Four days later, on November 6, Kiely, who was this time accompanied by Lang, struck again.

At around 7.20pm a 21-year-old driving a BMW one series, worth around £11,000, pulled into the car park at Helensburgh Swimming pool with his 17-year-old brother sitting in the passenger seat.

The siblings went to a nearby cafe to buy ice-cream before returning to the car to eat it.

Kiely then approached the driver’s door and told him to get out before leaning into the motor and grabbing the man and pulling him from the car.

The court heard the driver then saw a blade in Kiely’s right hand and feared he would be knifed.

Lang, who had made his way made his way to the passenger door, also pulled the driver’s teenage brother from the car and told him “stay away”.

An onlooker pulled his car up in a bay close to the BMW and stopped and one of the brothers shouted to him “phone the police they are trying to steal our car”.

Kiely and Lang then jumped into the car and put it in reverse.

Another driver tried to pull his car into its path to block the exit to the car park but Kiely drove the BMW onto the kerb and was able to escape.

The police were called and arrived at the scene to find both the brothers visibly shaken.

The vehicle was later recovered by cops and the carjackers were identified using CCTV.

Defending Kiely, his lawyer conceded the young man’s life had “gone off the rails” following the death of two of his family members.

The court heard the once promising footballer had become involved in the abuse of alcohol and drugs, particularly cocaine, and had become indebted to his suppliers.

The lawyer also saidKiely was remorseful and understood he would go to jail.

A lawyer defending Lang said he too accepted that he inevitably faced a custodial sentence.

He also said there was little which could be said to mitigate what had happened on the day in question but said his client’s involvement in the crime had been “spontaneous”.

Sheriff Simon Fraser took a dim view of the pair’s actions.

He jailed Kiely for a total of 61 months while Lang was jailed for two years.