Olympic boxer in cocaine arrest

Saunders suffered a shock second-round defeat in Beijing

British Olympic boxer Bradley Saunders has been questioned by police on suspicion of dealing cocaine.

He was held after a police sniffer dog found what was believed to be �12,000 of the drug in the back garden of his home in Sedgefield, County Durham.

The boxer and his girlfriend Stephanie Elliott, both 22, were held at Spennymoor police station overnight.

The couple, who both deny being involved in drugs, have been bailed pending further inquiries.

A warrant was executed at the British light-welterweight champion's semi-detached home in Cragside on Monday.

A sniffer dog alerted officers to a tin which contained more than 300g of white powder, which has been sent away for analysis.

Mr Saunders, a father of one, said: "They told me they'd had an anonymous telephone call tip-off.

"There was never anything in that garden. I know nothing about any drugs."

The boxer was tipped to bring back a gold medal from the Beijing games but returned home after a shock defeat in his second fight.

He has been bailed to return to Spennymoor police station in the New Year.

This article was previously illustrated with a picture of Tony Jeffries instead of Bradley Saunders. That error has been corrected and we apologise to Tony Jeffries for any embarrassment caused by the mistake.

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