A SKELMORLIE man who had been charged with driving a van dangerously and 'at speed' towards plain clothes police officers on drug-dealing patrol has been cleared by a sheriff.

William Rodger, 26, was found not guilty at trial following what was described by his lawyer as 'significant discrepancies' in the evidence given by the two PCs.

The officers were at odds over which type of car they had been in, what was said to Mr Rodger, of Innes Park Road in Skelmorlie, as they tried to detain him and which part of his van had allegedly struck one of them.

Both PCs told how they had seen him exit a common close at around 11pm on October 15, 2019, with what appeared to be a bulky package tucked inside the kangaroo pouch pocket of a hooded top he was wearing.

They testified that Mr Rodger ignored shouts of 'Stop, police!', got into a Volkswagen Caddy van and drove at 'full acceleration' at them, forcing them to take evasive action to avoid being struck.

The officers told the court that they alerted colleagues before conducting an area search and finding Mr Rodger in his van at a junction.

They said they approached the vehicle with their police warrant cards on display and attempted to gain access to it before it sped off, striking one of them on the right hip.

However, one officer had told the court that they had been in a fully marked Peugeot police vehicle, while the other said they had gone in a 'partially marked' CID Ford Focus.

One said he had told Mr Rodger he was being detained under Section 23 of the Misuse of Drugs Act for a search but the other made no mention of this.

Describing the second time they encountered Mr Rodger, one officer said their car was parked at the side of the street while the other told the court he'd parked across the junction.

One had no recollection of the other trying to smash the window of Mr Rodger's van but the other told the court he forcefully struck the driver's side window three times with his elbow.

The PC who said he was struck by the car told the court he believed the Caddy's wing mirror hit him, however, his colleague said he thought the rear of the car had made contact during a reversing manoeuvre.

The court heard through defence lawyer Derek Buchanan that it was Mr Rodgers' position that the bulge the officers had seen in his hooded top was in fact his arm in a plaster cast.

Mr Buchanan put it to one of the officers: "If a man sees two men in dark clothing approaching him late at night it's a natural reaction to drive off."

The PC replied: "If we hadn't identified ourselves as police officers, yes."

The other officer told the court: "Given what had unfolded previously I was screaming at Mr Rodger that we were police."

Mr Rodger — who had been charged with committing the previously alleged offences in the Larkfield area of Greenock — chose not to give evidence in the case.

Solicitor Mr Buchanan lodged a successful no case to answer submission regarding an allegation that his client had obstructed police exercising their powers under drugs misuse legislation.

Sheriff Linda Smith found Mr Rodger not guilty of two charges of dangerous driving.