Former high society cat burglar Peter Scott was yesterday jailed for three and a half years for his role in a sophisticated plot to sell a stolen #750,000 Picasso.

Scott, 67, who had netted an estimated #30m since the 1950s, was supposed to have ''retired'' from crime 10 years ago to become a celebrity tennis coach.

But he could not resist the temptation of one last crime when the abstract work Tete de Femme (Woman's head) came his way following an armed robbery at the Lefevre Gallery in Mayfair, central London, in March last year.

He decided a #75,000 cut to offload the masterpiece would be most welcome, Snaresbrook Crown Court, Essex heard. During his time as a burglar Scott was known as the Human Fly because of his ability to reach inaccessible places.

As the dock was cleared, 82-year-old Raymond Jones stood up in the public gallery, introduced himself as the infamous cat burglar Ray the Cat and denounced Scott as a ''liar'' for taking all the credit in the Sophia Loren raid in 1960.

As the judge listened patiently to the extraordinary outburst, Jones, of Stamford Hill, north London, spoke at length about why he wanted a few minutes alone with Scott to tell him what he thought about it.

Judge Brooks said he would have to make a formal approach to the prison authorities.

Belfast-born Scott breathed a huge sigh of relief as he heard his fate. He had earlier told reporters he expected to receive up to six years.

His accomplice, Ronald Spring, 70, received a two-year sentence suspended for 24 months.