A motorist caught transporting £51,000 along the M6 near Penrith told police the money was not his – and suggested somebody who attended a party at his home may have put the money into his car.

But the cash was mostly Scottish bank notes – and the party the man referred to happened in Bradford.

At Carlisle’s Rickergate court, magistrates approved a Cumbria Police application to continue holding the cash so that an investigation of its potential links to crime could be carried out. A police financial investigator outlined how the money was found.

He said the driver, in his late 30s, was noticed by officers in an unmarked car as his Seat Leon car was driven at  “excessive speed” between Junctions 41 and 40 of the M6.

It happened at around 12 noon on Wednesday, October 11.

Before they were able to stop the car, the police officers noticed that he appeared to be “fidgeting about” inside the car. After stopping on the motorway’s hard shoulder, he then immediately left his car and walked towards the parked police car.

“In the police car, he appeared nervous,” said the investigator.

“He was sweating, and very shifty and couldn’t settle in his seat. The provided his name and said he had been to see his girlfriend in Scotland. Officers asked him for the details of girlfriend and her address where he had been.

“Either he would not tell them or he didn’t know; he would not provide those details.” In view of the man’s manner and his inability to provide details of where he had been prompted the police to search the driver’s car.

He told the officers that there was nothing in the Seat that should not be there.

But when they searched it, they found two cardboard boxes in the passenger footwell, covered by a jacket. Inside the boxes were 51 £1,000 bundles of cash. The money was predominantly in Scottish bank notes.

“He said he didn’t know anything about it,” said the investigator.

During a further interview at the scene, the man said he worked as a roofer and at the weekend he took part in a party in his home in Bradford the previous weekend and he speculated that one of the guests may have put the money in his car.

The investigator said: “It seems unlikely that somebody in Bradford would have Scottish banknotes.”

He said there was police intelligence suggesting that the man was linked to illegal drugs supply.

The officer added that he had attempted to contact the driver – calling his number 30 times - so that he could attend the court hearing but there was no response.

Having heard the outline of the facts behind the case, magistrates approved the police application. They ruled that Cumbria Police can hold the cash for a further three months as their investigation continues.