A suspected drug runner tried to discard a bundle of wraps worth up to £3,000 after being confronted by police in a Bury St Edmunds alleyway, a court heard.

Clovis Cliford threw a package containing more than 200 wraps of heroin and cocaine into a tree when met by police in an alleyway off Euston Close last May.

The 23-year-old, from Oxlow Lane, Dagenham, admitted two counts of possession with intent to supply class A drugs at Suffolk Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.

Prosecutor Ashley Petchey said officers had attended an address in Euston Close in response to concerns for the welfare of a female resident on May 16, 2019.

Mr Petchey said there was no answer and no sign of movement inside the property, until the door was finally answered by a woman who appeared pale, tired and almost uncomfortable about their attendance.

As one officer was invited into the property, another walked towards an alleyway at the rear of the building, Mr Petchey told the court.

"The defendant was seen leaving the property through a back door, walking through the garden and up the steps to the alleyway," he added.

"He appeared to have items clenched in his fist."

Cliford was stopped in his tracks and grabbed by the arms, but pulled away and reached down towards a plant pot.

With a sudden movement, he threw away a handful of items, which the officer saw shake the branches of a tree and fall towards the ground.

Upon closer inspection, the discarded package was found to contain 76 wraps of heroin and 140 wraps of cocaine.

Mr Petchey said the heroin weighed 7.16 grammes and was worth between £740 and £1,110 on the street.

He said the cocaine weighed 7.7g and had a street value of between £1,320 and £1,980.

Mr Petchey told magistrates the starting point for sentencing the offences was four-and-a-half years' custody.

He said their powers of sentencing were insufficient and asked the bench to send the matter to be dealt with by a judge at the crown court.

No representations were made on behalf of Cliford, who was released on unconditional bail to return for the preparation of probation reports before being sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court on a date to be confirmed.