A couple were arrested after a suspected £20,000 stash of cocaine was discovered inside a sock hurled out of a window.

Officers from the Basildon Proactive Team, based in Pitsea, swooped on a house in Hermitage Drive, Laindon, after concerned members of the public contacted them about possible drug dealing.

When the police carried out a drugs warrant they spotted a black sock being thrown out of a top floor window and landing in the garden.

Inside they found approximately 200 grams of white powder, which officers believe could be cocaine mixed in with a chemical to dilute the drug.

If it is cocaine, the haul of white powder is estimated to be worth approximately £20,000.

The officers also discovered eight cannabis plants, worth about £4,000, in a tent upstairs, which they also seized.

Sgt Ben Woollard said: “There was a man and a woman in the house at the time.

“He was sleeping in an outhouse in the garden.

“As we arrived the sock was thrown out of a top floor window.

“Officers were watching from outside. Cocaine was in the sock but some of it might be a cutting agent used to spread out and dilute the drug.”

A 43-year-old man and a 45- year-old woman from Laindon were arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply cocaine and production of cannabis following the raid at about 9.30am on Friday.

The man was also arrested in connection with an unrelated drugs matter concerned with the supply of cocaine.

The pair, who are believed to be in a relationship, were bailed until December 2.