AN 18-YEAR-OLD man was spared jail after he was found with more than £2,000-worth of class A drugs.

Ross Baxter was sentenced at Glasgow Sheriff Court for having 146 ecstasy pills, worth £10 each, and 6.83 grams of cocaine, worth £200, he aimed to sell to his friends.

The apprentice electrician was found with the drugs after police had cause to stop the accused and carry out a search.

As well as the quantity of drugs found officers also recovered £605 in cash.

But he managed to avoid jail as the sentencing sheriff deemed that a community payback order was an appropriate alternative after considering Baxter’s defence.

Baxter admitted that on October 7 2016 at Campsie Road, Kirkintilloch, he had ecstasy, a class A drug, in his possession.

He also admitted having cocaine, another class A drug, in his possession on the same date at the same place.

Baxter’s defending solicitor said his client gave a “very full” police interview at the time of the offence and that he accepted full responsibility for having the drugs on him.

The only thing he didn’t comply with was telling police who sold him the drugs.

The court went on to hear that the accused was 17-years-old at the time and was in a friend group who were taking dugs.

He was then introduced to someone who sold drugs and decided to take it upon himself to buy class A substances on bulk.

He was told that if he bought enough drugs he would get a discount.

His solicitor then stressed to the court that these large quantities were not intended to be part of a “wide commercial basis”.

The solicitor went on to say that the incident has caused the Baxter family a significant amount of distress and embarrassment.

Sentencing Sheriff Gerard Bonnar said to Baxter, of St Columbia Drive, Kirkintilloch, charges of this sort frequently end in jail time and he was very close to that.

However, after taking in to consideration Baxter’s age, his career and the fact this was his first offence the sheriff sentenced him to carry out 225 hours of unpaid work.