Worthing firearms pair admit charges in court

TWO military buffs who sold historic guns and ammunition over the internet have admitted firearms offences.

John Howe, 43, from Downview Road, and Paul White, 42, from Pavilion Road, scoured international and European battlefields, including the Somme, for bullets, guns and other war memorabilia for sale on their website, www.dugup.co.uk

The men hoarded a vast cache of military artefacts at addresses across Worthing, which were raided after a police tip-off in December, 2005.

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Officers spent two days scouring through the vast collection and sealed off a lock-up garage in an alleyway off Norfolk Street.

On December 20, bomb disposal experts carried out a controlled explosion of an "unstable" German butterfly bomb and two detonators in the middle of Victoria Park, just metres away from the garage.

The park was sealed off as the blast scattered sandbags 15ft into the air.

A bomb expert said the items were too unstable to be transported.

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On Monday, June 9, both men appeared at Chichester Crown Court where Howe, a former soldier, admitted four offences of illegally possessing weapons or ammunition, including rifle cartridges, a stun gun and a revolver.

White, a bus driver, admitted the same charges and two others: possessing an Enfield pistol and possessing an automatic revolver.

The men will be sentenced on July 1.

Although the charges carry penalties of up to five years in prison, Judge Anthony Thorpe said he was not considering immediate custody for the men.

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