PROCEEDS from crime - including £80,000 found under a bed on Canvey - are being used to help community projects.

A pioneering scheme which turns the proceeds of crime into a positive benefit for the community has been given an extra match funding boost of £75,000.

Money from the sale of property and items seized by Essex Police from criminals is being recycled to encourage local giving and provide grants to voluntary and community organisations for community safety projects in the county.

The matched funding scheme was first launched in 2014 by Essex Police with an initial sum of £75,000 and is managed by the independent charitable trust, Essex Community Foundation.

The scheme has been such a success that a further £75,000 of matched funding has now been given by Essex Police.

Examples of proceeds that have been seized by police include £80,704 in sterling and euros from under the bed of a suspect at the home where he lived on Canvey with his sister.

This cash was tested and found to be highly contaminated with cocaine, as were the vehicles that the suspect had control of.

He claimed that he was a money collector and he had collected the cash from various people on behalf of a person living in Malta and was keeping it for him.

The suspect did not have many previous convictions nor was there much intelligence on him but he was part of a known criminal family and mainly mixed with criminals.

This along with the fact that the cash was contaminated helped Essex Police to prepare a case and after a series of forfeiture proceedings the suspect and the “owner” of the cash decided not to continue contesting the application.

The cash was forfeited at Southend Magistrates’ Court.

The suspect was also ordered to pay costs of £5,906 to Essex Police.

Examples of who the money benefits include Essex Youthbuild, which received £4,575 to support their work helping young offenders and other vulnerable young people, and the Sea Change Sailing Trust which got £5,000 to take children sailing.

Stephen Kavanagh, chief constable of Essex, said: “The Essex Police Proceeds of Crime Match Funding Scheme is a highly innovative, if not unique approach, which means that money collected from criminals is being used to help increase charitable giving across the county.”