A MAN has been warned he could receive a long prison sentence after heroin worth tens of thousands of pounds was found in a car near Carlisle.

Leroy Allen, 21, faced one charge when he appeared at the city's crown court this morning (MON) over a video link from custody.

That charge arises out of an incident just before 1pm on February 19, at Southwaite services, off the M6. "Approximately £40,000 worth of heroin was recovered," said a Cumbria Constabulary spokesman at the time.

It is said the class A heroin haul found by police weighed almost half a kilo.

During today's short court hearing in front of Judge James Adkin, Allen pleaded guilty to one heroin possession crime.

Allen, of no fixed abode but said to be from the Liverpool area, had his case adjourned, and he is due to be sentenced at the crown court on April 4.

In the meantime he was remanded in custody.

"You must know that this amount of heroin means a long custodial sentence, but I have yet to hear the full facts of the case," Judge Adkin told him.