Sheffield man caught with cannabis stash while waiting to board Orkney ferry escapes jail sentence after appearance at Wick Sheriff Court

James Holman was ordered to carry out 225 hours of unpaid community work by Sheriff Gordon Fleetwood, who stressed that it was a direct alternative to prison.

The 55-year-old was sentenced after a 500-mile journey from his home in Sheffield.

Wick Sheriff Court was told Holman was waiting to board the ferry, Alfred, at Gills Bay, when he was caught by police checking vehicles on December 1 last year.

Fiscal David Barclay said officers got a distinctive whiff of cannabis when they opened the door of Holman's camper van and a search revealed a total of 1162g of herbal cannabis in two bags which could have fetched between £9750 and £18,450 if sold in small quantities on the street.

However, Sheriff Fleetwood accepted that Holman, of Monksbridge Road, Sheffield, had admitted possession of the drug for personal use and there was no question of a commercial enterprise involved.

The accused, a mechanic, told police he had been intending to travel to Orkney to help a friend repair his lobster boat's damaged engine.

Mr Barclay said Holman also commented he used cannabis on a daily basis to treat severe pain following unsuccessful surgery a few years ago.

The fiscal added: "He baked the drug into food items and smoked it to ease the pain and shared it with his partner".

Sheriff Fleetwood observed from a background report that Holman had told a social worker he was unfit to do unpaid work which prompted the sheriff to conclude, "that will tie my hands when passing sentence."

The sheriff observed that the accused had been able to travel all the way north from Sheffield which appeared to contradict the suggestion that he wasn't fit to work and added: "If he is not able to do it, then prison is inevitable."

However, after a short recess, Miss MacDonald reported that Holman was able to do the work.

Sheriff Fleetwood warned Holman: "If you don't do it, you will be back in court and you can expect to go to prison – clear?"

The accused replied "yes'.

He must complete the work order within a year. The drugs were ordered to be forfeit.