A DREGHORN man has been spared a jail sentence for his part in the supply of controlled drugs.

Dylan Chapman was told by a sheriff that the custody threshold had been met for his offences - but he was ordered to carry out unpaid work as an alternative to a prison term.

The 27-year-old faced 15 charges along with a co-accused, but was convicted of just four of those after pleading guilty in December.

The charges stated that on June 1, 2021 at his home in Milton Crescent, Chapman was concerned in the supply of ecstasy and herbal cannabis, while he was also found to be in possession of cocaine and cannabis resin.

Chapman was cleared of the other charges, which included supplying a quantity of confectionary and liquid containing THC.

Another charge claimed he was concerned in the supply of confectionary which he believed contained THC but which did not contain the substance.

Not guilty pleas were also accepted to being concerned in the supply of etizolam, tramadol and gabapentin (used to treat epilepsy).

He was also cleared of being in possession of MDMA, ketamine, morphine, dihydrocodeine and pregabalin (also used to treat epilepsy).

Defence solicitor Graeme Cunningham told Kilmarnock Sheriff Court that his client had simply allowed the drugs to be in his house "for the purposes of onward transmission" - and that if he had responded differently to the situation then he would have been appearing as a witness, rather than as an accused person.

Mr Cunningham told the January 20 hearing: "It is very plain to see that people who are involved in the supply of class A drugs should be expected to serve time in custody but I would invite my lord to take a step back from that.

"The class A drugs were worth £83, the value of the class B drugs was significantly higher, but still not that high, at £400.

"He has a very limited history of offending, with four previous convictions, none analogous.

"He allowed those drugs to be in his house for the purposes of onward transmission."

Sheriff George Jamieson said he was choosing to follow the recommendations of the social work report by issuing a community payback order rather than a custodial sentence.

Chapman must complete 120 hours of unpaid work within 12 months.