In police work, simple curiosity can sometimes be the key factor in getting results.

On the evening of Friday December 22 last year, several officers attended the arrival of the Ben-my-Chree from Heysham, checking vehicles as they disembarked.

For a variety of reasons they became suspicious about the driver of one vehicle and they took him and it to police headquarters.

There they conducted extensive and thorough searches, but could find nothing.

Constable Pamela Robinson, a newly trained and licensed search officer, noticed that vehicle appeared to belong to a tradesman.

It contained tools and a bucket, which contained plaster that had set.

Realising that plasterers do not usually carry set plaster around she became suspicious.

Constable Beaumont duly broke the plaster with a sledgehammer and the bucket was found to contain over £100,000 worth of cocaine.

Constables Robinson and Beaumont were presented with certificates of merit, alongside temporary Sergeant Damien Cullivan, Sergeant Neil Hastie, Special Constable Liam McLoughlin-Lowey, and Constable Lee Wright.