A young north-east fisherman has been fined more than £1,000 after admitting drug and driving offences.
Calum Paterson confessed to being in possession of cocaine and cannabis in Lochpots Road Fraserburgh on January 22.
The 22-year-old also admitted to driving while disqualified and without insurance on South Road, Peterhead on October 2.
Paterson pleaded guilty to two charges of being in possession of a controlled drug and the driving offences during an appearance at Peterhead Sheriff Court yesterday.
The court was told Paterson, whose address was given in court papers as Rose Avenue, Peterhead, was found with separate packages of drugs.
Fiscal depute Anne Macdonald said Paterson had been caught with wraps of cocaine weighing 0.2 and 0.4 grams respectively and cannabis weighing 1kg. She was unable to tell the court the street value of the drugs.
Ms Macdonald told the court the driving offences came to light when Paterson was stopped by police in Peterhead late at night.
She said: “He was seen driving at around 11.20pm and was stopped by officers as part of a routine check.”
Defence agent Sam Milligan said Paterson was caught behind the wheel while he was already serving a driving ban.
He said his client worked in the fishing industry and was due to return to work in a matter of weeks.
Mr Milligan said: “At the time of this he was subject to a seven month disqualification.
“He is a fishermen and his vessel is due to go back to sea at the end of this month.”
Mr Milligan said Paterson earns around £1,000 a month from his job and would be in a position to be a fine at a rate of £35 a week.
Sheriff Christine McCrossan fined Paterson £1,000 and banned him from driving for 15 months for the driving offences.
He was fined a total of £95 for being in possession of the class A and class B drugs.
