A YOUNG mum trying to make ends meet was stopped at a city roundabout with nearly £20,000 in suspected drugs money hidden in a shoebox in the back of her car.

Police were acting from a tip-off when they pulled over 33-years-old Sarah Lancaster in her black mini Cooper near the A449 at Claines on December 11 last year.

She was being paid £20 to ferry the cash to Birmingham but she had no idea what was in the box hidden under a blanket, said Charles Hamer, prosecuting at Worcester Crown Court.

The owner of the £19,980 had still not been found, said Mr Hamer, but the suspicion was that it was proceeds of drug dealing.

Lancaster, a mother-of-one, of Hazel Close, Warndon, Worcester, was in her overdraft at the time and had been paid £20 to transport the box and promised another £50 to hand it over in Birmingham, the court was told.

Martin Keys, for Lancaster, said he believed there was some sort of intimidation against her.

She was living in rented accommodation with her 12-year-old son on an income of £197 a fortnight.

There was no planning and it was a case of someone vulnerable being tempted to make another £50.

Her bank accounts were investigated by police, who discovered that she was in overdraft at the time. Steps are still being taken to trace the origin of the cash.

Judge Nicholas Cole speculated that the money could have been payment for a valuable consignment of drugs.

Her crime was that she had been acting as a go-between between people in the drugs trade, he said.

He added that had the box been stuffed with drugs she could have been looking at a jail sentence in the region of five years.

"It is your good fortune you didn't look inside the box," he added.

Lancaster pleaded guilty to assisting in the transfer of cash from criminal activity.

She was given a six month jail sentence, suspended for 12 months and ordered to carry out 120 hours unpaid work. She must make a £150 contribution to court costs.