A PRESTONPANS drug dealer has escaped a prison sentence, despite being caught with thousands of pounds’ worth of heroin.

Derek Robertson was pulled over by police officers as he drove a red BMW on the town’s Appin Drive and was found to have wraps of the Class A drug hidden away in the vehicle’s glove compartment.

A subsequent search of his home at North Grange Avenue uncovered a further £3,000 of the drug hidden in his bedroom.

The 31-year-old was told during last month’s hearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court that “prison is very much on the cards” when he was eventually sentenced.

But Sheriff Frank Crowe decided to spare Robertson a jail term when he appeared back in the dock at the city court last Friday, instead placing him under supervision and a restriction of liberty order.

The court previously heard that police officers had received intelligence that “a red BMW was concerned in the supply of drugs” in the Prestonpans area.

The vehicle was then traced at the town’s Appin Drive on October 19 last year and Robertson, the sole occupant, was detained and the car searched.

Fiscal depute Roseanne Chapman said: “Ten wraps of brown powder and a further 12 wraps in the glove box were found.

“There were two mobile phones and £95 in cash on the passenger seat and a further £110 in a compartment under the steering wheel.

“The accused was then asked for permission to search his home and he agreed. They searched the premises and found a larger bag of diamorphine.”

Ms Chapman added that, along with thousands of pounds of heroin found at the house, officers also discovered affiliated equipment such as cash, scales, bags and gloves.

In total, police recovered 83 grams of heroin from Robertson’s car and home, along with £2,880 in cash.

Last Friday, solicitor Angela Craig, defending Robertson, said that her client was due to become a father within the next few weeks and he had managed to find employment as a window cleaner.

Ms Craig said that Robertson had suffered from a cocaine addiction and had been “caught up in a horrible habit of taking cocaine and owing people money”.

She added that Robertson was “a hard-working man” and his drug use had “spiralled out of control”, leading him to commit the drug offences.

Sheriff Crowe said: “You got yourself into serious trouble and I am entitled to send you to prison because you got involved in the drug selling process.

“At the end of the day, you were cutting it up and handing it over to end users.

“Also, you will ruin your health if you carry on with the cocaine.”

The sheriff sentenced Robertson to an 18-month supervision requirement designed to monitor his behaviour and also handed down a six-month restriction of liberty assessment which will keep him indoors between the hours of 8pm and 6am.