A TRANENT man who agreed to sell quantities of Class A drugs to pay off a large debt has narrowly escaped a jail sentence.

Colin Fisher was struggling with cocaine addiction and was using the drug on a daily basis when he became involved in the supply of the drug to others in a bid to settle what he owed.

Fisher, of Stiel Grove, was also found to be supplying the Class B drug cannabis to others when police arrested him in August last year.

The 42-year-old pleaded guilty to the two charges when he appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in July and sentence had been deferred for reports to last week.

He returned to the dock for sentencing last Friday, where Sheriff Charles Walls placed him under the supervision of the social work department for 18 months and told him he must carry out the maximum 300 hours of unpaid work in the community.

He will also have to wear an electronic tag and stay within his home address between 7pm and 7am each night for the next six months.