A MAN caught with hundreds of pounds worth of cocaine and a large knife in his car has been assessed as being of 'low risk' of reoffending - after claiming he had the blade for a camping trip.

Steven McAfee was stopped and searched by police in Larkfield and was found to have 13.1 grams of the class A drug - which his lawyer told Greenock Sheriff Court was for personal use - as well as the knife.

A sentencing hearing was told officers were on patrol in a marked car in the early hours of June 16 last year when their attention was drawn to a vehicle being driven by 33-year-old McAfee.

Police had cause to stop the car on Fife Road and he was detained for a search under Misuse of Drugs Act legislation.

Prosecutor Fergus Warner told the court: "He stated to police that there were drugs and a knife within the vehicle.

"A search was conducted and a total of 13.1 grams of cocaine were found within the vehicle along with a large knife.

"The drugs were valued at £400 to £500."

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McAfee, who pleaded guilty to the charges on the day he was due to stand trial on the matters, 'fully acknowledges the serious nature of the offences' combined with his criminal record, according to his lawyer.

Amy Spencer said: "He is assessed as being at low risk of reoffending.

"In the previous days [before the incident] he had been on a camping trip but that was several days before.

"His last conviction was in 2014.

"At the time [of the offence] he had been misusing the drug."

Sheriff David Pender told the McAfee: "These are both serious charges but I will deal with them in a non-custodial way in view of your record and your explanation for charge two."

McAfee, of Mount Stuart Drive in Wemyss Bay, was given an 18-month supervision order and told to carry out 240 hours of unpaid work within a year.