A DRUG dealer may have dumped a package worth £35,000 in a bin thinking he had been rumbled, police believe.

Officers are keen to find the owner of the drugs found in a bin in Eastbourne.

The discovery was made by a member of the public who spotted the suspicious package in a communal bin in Rockall Avenue this morning.

They alerted police, who recovered the package and found it to contain about six-and-half kilograms of cannabis and amphetamine.

PC Dan Cloake said: "This would appear to be lost property.

"If you have mislaid a large quantity of drugs, I will be happy to talk to you and discover why you believe this to be yours.

"There was an unrelated incident in the area on Wednesday night which resulted in an increased police presence and it's possible that someone panicked and ditched the package believing that they were the subject of that activity.

"We would like to speak to anyone who may have seen anyone acting suspiciously in the Rockall Avenue area on Wednesday or Thursday, especially around the communal bins."

Email 101@sussex.pnn.police.uk or call 101 quoting reference 47150066358.