A MAN who was caught prowling around a Kilwinning garden in the middle of the night claimed he was just looking for his dog, a court has heard.

James Harvie, of Broomlands Drive, Irvine, was arrested after venturing into the rear garden of a house in Pollock Crescent on July 19.

It was around 2.30am that the property’s residents were disturbed by noises from outside. Looking out their window, they saw Harvie standing next to the disabled access ramp at the back door.

The occupants shouted out the window and Harvie, who was carrying a distinctive Nike rucksack, walked away.

The police were called out and found Harvie on a street nearby, recognising him by his backpack. He was stopped, spoken to and replied: “I was in the garden looking for my dog.” He was taken to the local police office, where a search revealed he was carrying 2.3g of cannabis. The unemployed 25-year-old appeared at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court last week, when he pled guilty to cannabis possession and being found in the curtilage of a property when he had no lawful authority to be there, so that in all the circumstances it could be inferred he planned to commit theft.

The court heard he had recently lost his accommodation and had been living “here, there and everywhere” till moving in with his father. The explanation that he was looking for the family dog, which had escaped from the house, was again put forward by his lawyer, Mrs Dawson.

She said that Harvie had even been carrying the leads on him, but had accepted that it could have looked like he was there for another purpose.

The cannabis, she added, was for his own use.

Sentencing was deferred till November.