A KILWINNING ice cream man has lost his licence to sell cones after being caught with £300 worth of ‘Meow Meow’.

John Cowan, 44, was caught with quantities of cannabis and mephedrone - also known as ‘Meow Meow’ - at his girlfriend’s house in Dirrans Terrace.

Police officers were called out to the address at 8.05am on the morning of June 25, last year, after receiving reports of a disturbance.

They were met by Cowan’s girlfriend, who let them inside, where they found Cowan crying and asking for help.

They spoke to him, but weren’t able to get much sense from him, though he did admit he’d been taking illegal substances.

The officers noted that he had fresh cuts on his arm and so took him to receive medical attention.

However, once he was dealt with, they returned to the property and carried out a search, discovering 19.2g of cannabis, worth £70, and £305 worth of mephedrone.

Cowan, now of Russell Drive, Ayr, appeared at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court last week, when he pled guilty to possession of both class B drugs.

The court heard ‘Meow Meow’ described as a plant food which had only recently been made illegal and which Cowan had purchased through friends after they told him it could get him high.

It was revealed that at the time of the offence, he had been living with his girlfriend in Kilwinning, and the two of them had been running an ice cream van business.

Cowan, the court heard, had an operator’s licence for the van and his partner had a trader’s licence to work in it.

However, as a result of his conviction, both of their licences had been revoked by the council and the pair of them were now out of work.

Cowan was ordered to carry out 50 hours of unpaid work in the community.