A MAN who struggled to come up with a consistent explanation why he had £24,000 in the boot of his car has had the money confiscated.

It follows Benjamin Craig Robson’s mid-trial change of plea at Durham Crown Court.

The case arose from the police stopping of a Volkswagen Jetta, driven by Robson, on South Church Road, Bishop Auckland, at 8.30am on May 17, 2016.

Neil Jones, prosecuting, said the officers noticed the car smelled of cannabis and Robson handed over a small amount of the drug.

But, in searching the boot, the officers recovered a large amount of cash.

Asked if he knew the amount, Robson told them it was £24,000 and claimed he bought and sold cars.

He denied a charge of possessing criminal property, the £24,000, at a plea hearing, and later offered the account that it was a long-term loan.

Mr Jones said there was a lack of documentation over the arrangement and Robson would not reveal the identity of the lender.

Addressing the trial jury, Mr Jones said: “The Crown’s case is that there is an irresistible inference there was something nefarious about the presence of this money.”

At the start of the second day of his trial, Robson, 39, of Lancaster Close, Bishop Auckland, changed his plea and admitted the offence.

On the judge’s direction, the jury, therefore, returned a formal guilty verdict.

Imposing a ten-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, with 280-hours’ unpaid work, Judge Jonathan Carroll ordered the forfeiture of the seized £24,000 held by the police.