diff --git a/base_layer/mmr/src/sparse_merkle_tree/tree.rs b/base_layer/mmr/src/sparse_merkle_tree/tree.rs
index f5bf96dddc..bc3378ac59 100644
--- a/base_layer/mmr/src/sparse_merkle_tree/tree.rs
+++ b/base_layer/mmr/src/sparse_merkle_tree/tree.rs
@@ -255,7 +255,14 @@ impl<H: Digest<OutputSize = U32>> SparseMerkleTree<H> {
 
     /// Returns true if the tree contains the key `key`.
     pub fn contains(&self, key: &NodeKey) -> bool {
-        self.search_node(key).ok().is_some()
+        match self.search_node(key) {
+            // In the case of a malformed tree where the search fails unexpectedly, play it safe
+            Err(_) => false,
+            // The node is either empty or is a leaf with an unexpected key
+            Ok(None) => false,
+            // The node is a leaf with the expected key
+            Ok(Some(_)) => true,
+        }
     }
 
     /// Returns the value at location `key` if it exists, or `None` otherwise.
@@ -806,4 +813,38 @@ mod test {
         let _ = tree.delete(&short_key(65)).unwrap();
         assert!(tree.is_empty());
     }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn contains() {
+        let mut tree = SparseMerkleTree::<Blake256>::default();
+
+        // An empty tree contains no keys
+        assert!(!tree.contains(&short_key(0)));
+        assert!(!tree.contains(&short_key(1)));
+
+        // Add a key, which the tree must then contain
+        tree.upsert(short_key(1), ValueHash::from([1u8; 32])).unwrap();
+        assert!(!tree.contains(&short_key(0)));
+        assert!(tree.contains(&short_key(1)));
+
+        // Delete the key, which the tree must not contain
+        tree.delete(&short_key(1)).unwrap();
+        assert!(!tree.contains(&short_key(0)));
+        assert!(!tree.contains(&short_key(1)));
+
+        // Build a more complex tree with two keys, which the tree must then contain
+        tree.upsert(short_key(0), ValueHash::from([0u8; 32])).unwrap();
+        tree.upsert(short_key(1), ValueHash::from([1u8; 32])).unwrap();
+        assert!(tree.contains(&short_key(0)));
+        assert!(tree.contains(&short_key(1)));
+
+        // Delete each key in turn
+        tree.delete(&short_key(0)).unwrap();
+        assert!(!tree.contains(&short_key(0)));
+        tree.delete(&short_key(1)).unwrap();
+        assert!(!tree.contains(&short_key(1)));
+
+        // Sanity check that the tree is now empty
+        assert!(tree.is_empty());
+    }
 }