A young man with ambitions to join the army has escaped with a £200 fine after being found in possession of cocaine in Kilwinning.

Hayden Lilly, of Dinmurchie Road in Troon, pled guilty to one charge under the Misuse of Drugs Act at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court last week.

His co-accused, 20-year-old Kieran Wylie of Innerwood Road in Kilwinning, also faced the same charge but was absent and pleaded guilty by letter.

Sentence was deferred for Wylie until the end of the month for personal appearance.

The court heard that police were on patrol in Kilwinning on August 12 of last year.

At around 8.10pm in Abbots Avenue, they observed Lilly, 19, and another male.

On noticing the officers, Lilly hid an item behind his back and he and the other male walked away quickly.

Police approached and stopped the two men and asked them what it was that Lilly had appeared to conceal.

The item was then thrown and the pair said that it had been a cigarette. Officers asked if the men had anything on them that they shouldn’t have and Lilly said: “I have some Charlie.”

The pair were searched by the officers. A bag was recovered from Lilly’s rear-left pocket containing a white powder, which later tested positive for cocaine.

The court heard that the Class A drug weighed 1.2grams and had an approximate street value of £40-£50.

Cocaine was also found on Wylie but it wasn’t specified in court how much he had in his possession.

Defence solicitor Brian Holliman asked Sheriff Craig Harris to consider a financial penalty for Lilly as the teen had never been in trouble before and was due to join the army in a few weeks.

He said: “He is 19 years of age. He appears as a first offender. He is very anxious about these proceedings.

“The army has been made aware of the offence.

“The matter occurred almost exactly a year ago. There has been nothing since and there are no other outstanding matters. He tells me there is no underlying issues.”

Sheriff Harris told Lilly: “I will take into account that this is your first offence.

“You will now have a conviction for drugs and that in itself is a punishment.”