A DRUG dealer caught with almost half an ounce of cocaine in his car has been spared a prison sentence after a court heard he ‘bitterly regrets his actions’.

Thomas McNeill pleaded guilty earlier this year to being concerned in the supply of the class A narcotic in Inverkip.

The 25-year-old was found with 26 bags of the substance, each weighing 0.4 grams, in his vehicle on the village’s Langhouse Road on April 27 last year – with the haul later valued at more than £500.

McNeill, of Houston, was given a community payback order at Greenock Sheriff Court on Wednesday despite being told that the offence passed the custody threshold.

Defence solicitor Amy Spencer told the hearing: “To use the words that he used in the [criminal justice social work department’s background] report, this is the worst thing that he has ever done.

“He bitterly regrets his actions and appears to have displayed a level of insight into the impact that this type of offence has on the community.

“He is not in any way trying to escape that.”

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Miss Spencer added: “Whilst there can never be an excuse for this type of offending, the circumstances place this offence into context.

“He lost his employment and was struggling financially, he was embarrassed to ask his parents for money and resorted to committing this offence.”

The lawyer said McNeill has since found a new job and the first offender was assessed as being at a low risk of reoffending due to the ‘positive life choices’ he has made.

Sheriff Anthony McGeehan told him: “You have now been convicted of a serious matter, being concerned in the supply of class A drugs.

“The supply of such drugs for profit causes untold misery to both individuals and communities.

“It is an offence that properly meets the custody threshold.”

The sheriff said that he was conscious of McNeill’s age, the relatively low value of the drugs recovered and the fact that he had no previous convictions.

As a direct alternative to custody, McNeill was told to complete 180 hours of unpaid work in 12 months, while a 16-week tagging order with 8pm-5am curfew restrictions was also imposed.

Sheriff McGeehan turned down a bid by McNeill’s lawyer to have the curfew hours amended to accommodate his weekend work as a DJ, while he also rejected a plea to defer the start date of the order to allow the offender to travel on a pre-booked week-long holiday.