Hunstanton man Joseph Rutherford in court after having key to safe which contained cocaine

Police searching a man who had hidden a key in his underwear later discovered it opened a safe with cocaine stored inside.

Joseph Rutherford, 28, of Westgate in Hunstanton, appeared at Lynn Magistrates’ Court on Thursday where he admitted to being in possession of a Class A drug.

The incident happened on December 10, 2022, when police attended a property in Hunstanton.

The court was told that Rutherford jumped out of the window and began running away from officers.

Officers continued to search the property and later caught up to Rutherford and searched him – finding a set of keys in his underwear.

One of the keys opened a safe in the property – where a vulnerable adult lived. Inside the safe, police found 2.2g of cocaine.

A quantity of cash was also found inside the premises.

In mitigation, Andrew Cogan said: “There is very little I can say, he enters a guilty plea and this incident is well over a year old.

“He has committed no other drug offences since 2022.”

Rutherford was fined £120 and will also pay a victim surcharge of £48 and court costs of £50.