A Mountblow man who was caught with almost £700 worth of a class A drugs in his car has given up his habit and vowed to stay away from the justice system, a court has been told.

Ryan Leitch, of Perth Crescent, Clydebank, pleaded guilty back in February to possession of cocaine – his first criminal offence. 

He was stopped by police on October 19, 2019, in Erskine View, Old Kilpatrick.

Dumbarton Sheriff Court last week heard the total value of the drugs was £680.

The 21-year-old’s defence solicitor said: “He accepts full responsibility. Up until recently, he was unemployed. 

“He has set up his own firm and started work over the last few weeks.

 “There’s no excuse for his behaviour. He went from using drugs socially to almost on a daily basis. Being stopped by police seems to have been a wake-up call. 

“He has abstained from drug use. He will do everything he can to avoid the criminal justice system again.”

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Sheriff Maxwell Hendry said Leitch was a “perfect example of how easy it is to slip from being an occasional user” to being involved in the machinery of the drug trade.

He put Leitch on a community payback order with a requirement to do 135 hours of unpaid work within the next year. 

A Crown motion in relation to the proceeds of crime will be considered next month.