A MAN has been charged after nearly half a million pounds was found stashed in a hidden compartment in a van in Leigh.

Kevin O'Leary, aged 48, is charged with money laundering following an incident in Newton Road on Thursday, May 9.

Officers from one of Greater Manchester Police's Road Traffic Units stopped a Ford Transit van and found a false wall, behind which they discovered a hidden compartment housing several bags containing nearly £500,000 in cash.

O'Leary, from Liverpool, was remanded in custody after a first hearing at Wigan and Leigh Magistrates' Court and will next appear before Liverpool Crown Court on June 5.