A CLACKMANNAN woman caught with cannabis and cocaine has been placed on a community payback order.

Maria Ross received the sentence when she appeared at Alloa Sheriff Court via videolink on Thursday, October 29.

Police executing a search warrant found 3.7grammes of cocaine and 4.8g of cannabis at her property on September 8 last year.

The 37-year-old pleaded guilty to two charges of Class A and B drug possession in February, but was not sentenced for the offence until last week.

But, as the Advertiser previously reported, she was jailed in the interim period, after assaulting and attempting to rob a vulnerable man in April.

She also assaulted a police constable around that time by coughing on him while claiming to be infected with coronavirus.

That resulted in her being imprisoned for 16 months, and Alloa Sheriff Court heard last week that she is due to be released from HMP Greenock in December.

Solicitor Kelly Howe asked the court not to extend her period in custody as a result of the charges of drug possession.

She also said her client had been experiencing issues as a result of a bereavement around the time of the drug offences.

After hearing the submission, Sheriff Craig Harris said the amount of drugs Ross was caught with was "not insubstantial".

However, he noted she was making progress in addressing her underlying issues.

He then placed her under supervision for a period of 13 months, in order to allow her to maintain that positive progress.