A SALTCOATS man has admitted to having heroin inside a prison last year.

James Robert Smilie, 37, of Sharphill Road, appeared at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court last week as the court heard how he was within HMP Kilmarnock and officers there noted a burning smell coming from within his cell area.

They attended at his cell to search it and spoke to Smillie who provided them with burnt foil which turned out to be a small wrap of diamorphine.

Swanny, defending, said that her client had been a new admission to the wing that evening and was arrested under a failure to appear at court.

She also noted that since the offence her client’s life has changed in that he hasn’t had any illicit substances and is on a steady methadone programme.

Sheriff McDonald said: “The locus would normally mean jail but since there has been over a year since the offence, on balance I can deal with it by means of a CPO.” A Community Payback Order was put in place which included one year of supervision and a requirement to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work for the benefit of the community.