A VALE man who was discovered with wraps of heroin in the street where he lives has been fined.

Gavin Ward, 39, of North Street in Alexandria, was found to be in possession of two polythene wraps containing the class A drug on September 17 last year.

Ward had entered guilty pleas during an earlier appearance at Dumbarton Sheriff Court to the heroin possession charge and a second drug possession charge concerning a small amount of cannabis — a class B drug.

When he appeared back in the court this week to be sentenced for the offences, fiscal depute Isobel Martin told the court that police officers had cause to stop Ward at 9.35am on the day of the offence.

He was searched and the officer discovered the heroin, which was given a street value of £30, and cannabis weighing 1.1g, valued at £5.

Ward’s lawyer informed the court his client used to live in Ayrshire and had already served a prison sentence for possession of the class A drug. He had moved to the Alexandria area to help him stay away from bad influences on his lifestyle.

Sheriff Maxwell Hendry told Ward: “You have got to know better than I that your life can go either one of two ways and it’s not by reverting back to serious drug use.” Ward was fined £100 for possessing the heroin and admonished on the cannabis charge.