CUMBRIAN detectives have been granted permission to continue holding £8,500 in cash which was found in a motorist’s car as he drove through Cumbria on the M6.

The money – found in two bundles in the driver’s Mercedes car- was seized after the driver was stopped near to Junction 40 of the motorway, Carlisle’s Rickergate court was told.

A detective from Cumbria Police’s Economic Crime Unit told Deputy District Judge Jayne Bryan that police wanted to hold on to the money as the investigation of the money continues.

Police suspect that the money is linked to crime.

When he was questioned, the driver told police that the money was not his. He claimed that he was carrying the cash in the car because he had been sent to buy a car but he was unable to give details of what vehicle he had been to see.

He then changed his story and said he was taking the money to London. Granting permission for the continued detention of the cash, the Deputy District Judge said she was satisfied there were reasonable grounds to grant the police application.

The three-month order was made under Proceeds of Crime legislation.