Collector jailed after rifle found

A memorabilia collector has been jailed for five years for possessing a Second World War rifle listed as a prohibited firearm. The rifle was not in a condition to fire live ammunition.

But Stafford Crown Court heard replacing the deteriorated pin would have made that possible. Phillip Peter Kent, aged 29, of Owen Walk, Highfields, Stafford, was arrested in the street by police acting on information at 7.30am on June 20 this year.

Officers asked what they would find if they searched his home and he immediately told them about the Lee-Enfield rifle.

Mr Stephen Bailey, defending, told the court yesterday Kent had not bought ammunition nor sought to make any alterations to allow live bullets to be fired.

He also said Kent, a former member of the Territorial Army, was told by the seller the weapon had been de-commissioned.

Mr Bailey said: "He is a collector of memorabilia . To his knowledge the rifle was not capable of firing. He paid £100 for it from a man in Hanley about a year ago. He never knew about firearms legislation.

"He was told by the person who sold it to him it was de-commissioned. He was a bona fide, not secretive, collector and was immediately and absolutely co-operative.

"The gun was in the state in which he received it and, although that does not make it a non-prohibited weapon, there was no ammunition, no evidence of his seeking any or of intentional or actual use."

Kent pleaded guilty to possessing the rifle. Pleading with Judge John Maxwell to spare him the minimum five-year jail term for this category of offence on the grounds of exceptional circumstances, Mr Bailey said: "Custody would be devastating. It would deeply affect his family and he would lose his accommodation."

But Judge Maxwell said Parliamentary guidance meant strong sentences should be given for illegal firearms possession. "I feel bound to impose the minimum sentence of five years," he added.