Hunstanton man Shane Francis threw drugs into bush at West Winch petrol station and hid cannabis in crisp packet

An uninsured driver threw cocaine into a bush and tried to conceal cannabis inside a crisp packet.

Shane Francis, 42, of Elizabeth Close in Hunstanton, appeared at Lynn Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, where he admitted five offences.

Francis pleaded guilty to having both Class A and Class B drugs in his possession, as well as driving without a licence or insurance.

He also admitted obstructing a police officer.

On November 14 last year, Francis was parked at the Esso Garage in West Winch.

He was sitting in the passenger seat with a packet of Scampi Fries when police first approached him.

They asked to search Francis, who proceeded to throw a bag of white powder into a nearby bush.

He then tried to hide a bag of cannabis in the crisp packet, but officers soon discovered it - as well as another located in his jacket pocket.

Francis was arrested and taken to Lynn’s Police Investigation Centre for questioning.

The following day, police went back to the garage to review CCTV footage.

Officers saw Francis driving into the garage, despite not having a licence or insurance to drive the Volkswagen Golf.

It was revealed that Francis had 16.2g of cannabis and 3.97g of cocaine on him.

In mitigation, duty solicitor George Sorrell told the court that Francis began “dabbling with drugs” again after his marriage broke down.

“He has lost his way in life,” Mr Sorrell said.

“He went back to drugs and behaved out of character to his recent temperament.”

Mr Sorrell said that since the offence, Francis has “given up” taking drugs and is living with a friend in Hunstanton.

He told the court that Francis was previously banned from driving and failed to complete a re-test.

Eight points were added to Francis’ licence, leading to him being disqualified from driving for 12 months due to ‘totting up’.

He was also fined £280, and will pay a victim surcharge of £112 and £40 in court costs.