A ROUTINE police stop and search unearthed a spectacular £250,000 "Aladdin's cave" of drugs and money hidden in a secret compartment in Southbourne.

On May 16 Michael Cullum, of Grower Gardens, in East Howe, pleaded guilty to possessing an arsenal of firearms and large quantities of drugs, including ecstasy, amphetamines and cannabis.

Prosecuter David Bartlett told Bournemouth Crown Court how plain clothes officers stopped Cullum as he rode home on his bicycle last February, sparking a frenzied struggle where they were forced to use CS Gas to subdue him.

The officers discovered a small amount of cannabis on the 44-year-old, but had no idea they would unearth a haul of drugs with a street value of £178,000 and bundles of cash worth £75,000 when they began searching a house in Southbourne, which Cullum inherited from his parents.

Mr Bartlett revealed how stunned officers discovered dozens of deactivated pistols and machine guns, air-weapons, rounds of ammunition, steel pellets and Second World War uniforms. Search teams stumbled on a secret compartment hidden underneath the stairs, packed with class A drugs and thousands of pounds in cash.

They also discovered that the bathroom upstairs had been converted into an elaborate hydroponic farm where Cullum, who was born in Tasmania, was cultivating 17 cannabis plants.

But defending, David Gibson-Lee told the court that Cullum inherited the arsenal of firearms from his father, who was an avid collector of Second World War memorabilia. Experts estimated the collection was worth £132,000.

The court heard that Cullum lashed out at the officers with a steel lamppost cover because he did not realise they were policemen and he "panicked". Mr Gibson-Lee added that the cannabis was for Cullum's personal use.

Sentencing Cullum to five years in jail, Judge Roger Jarvis said: "If it weren't for the fact of your guilty plea you would be facing a very, very long term of imprisonment."

Detective Constable Graham Adams praised the bravery of the two officers who arrested Cullum and said he hoped his sentence would act as a deterrent to other drug dealers in Bournemouth.

First published: May 18