A Johnstone woman who sent a five-year-old girl to school with drugs in her bag has been spared jail for endangering the child.

Stacey Harkins, 29, got confused while making the girl's packed lunch for her - and put 1g of amphetamine in her schoolbag by mistake.

The girl found the class B drugs at snack time on June 4, 2015, and told staff at her school in Johnstone that Harkins had put her "medicine" in her bag.

Amphetamine - which is also known as speed - is a stimulant which keeps people awake, energised and alert and puts users on a high, making them feel excited and chatty.

The police were contacted and officers raided Harkins' home in Craigenfeoch Avenue the same day, where they found a further 6g of the illegal substance.

Harkins, who also goes by the name Stacey Williams, later claimed she had put the packed lunch in the bin and the drugs in the girl's school bag, instead of the other way around.

The details emerged when Harkins appeared in the dock at Paisley Sheriff Court to be sentenced for endangering the girl, who can't be named for legal reasons, and being in possession of illegal drugs.

She had earlier pleaded guilty to breaking Section 12(1) of the Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act 1937 in that she "did willfully expose said child in a manner likely to cause her unnecessary suffering or injury to health and did place a quantity of Amphetamine within the school bag of said child and cause her to carry the said article upon her person, and did thereby expose her to the risk of consuming the said item."

Harkins also admitted being in possession of £20 of the class B drug, in breach of Section 5(2) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

Defence lawyer Terry Gallanagh told the court that Harkins, has "a chaotic lifestyle."

The solicitor, a partner in law firm McCusker, McElroy and Gallanagh, said: "She could comply with a Community Payback Order with supervision.

"She knows it needs to be complied with fully and needs to turn up on time and, if not, she'll be breached and will be sent to jail.

"Miss Harkins is absolutely horrified she put [the girl] in such a dangerous situation.

"She is indescribably embarrassed it was brought out publicly and is truly sorry.”

Sheriff Linda Smith could have caged Harkins for up to 12 months for the offences but opted to spare her jail and placed her on a Community Payback Order. 

She told Harkins she will be supervised by social workers for the next 12 months and gave her six months to complete 140 hours of unpaid work, reduced from 180 hours as she admitted her guilt. 

Sheriff Smith also slammed Harkins for her actions and told her to sort her life out. 

She added: "What I'm going to do is impose a Community Payback Order on you that you don't want. 

"You really have to start looking at what your life's going to be like going on from here."