LENNOX Blackwood has been jailed after being found guilty of firearms offences in Christchurch after a gun was found in a shoebox.

After a trial at Bournemouth Crown Court the 47-year-old, of Bulford, Wiltshire, was convicted of possessing a prohibited firearm and possessing ammunition without a certificate.

On Tuesday (July 30), Blackwood was sentenced to six years behind bars.

It came after, on the morning of Sunday, December 3 last year, Blackwood attended the address of a woman who was known to him in Christchurch and gave her a shoebox containing a pair of trainers, which he asked her to look after for him because they were worth a lot of money.

After he left the address, the woman decided to look in the shoebox and inside one of the trainers she found a bag containing two socks.

In one of these socks was a gun, later identified as a short-barrelled revolver, and in the other she found bullets.

The woman contacted police, who attended and seized the items.

Blackwood was located at his home address in Wiltshire in the early hours of the following morning and arrested.

Detective Constable Cameron Carter, of BCP CID, said: “We take all offences involving firearms extremely seriously and we responded swiftly to this report to ensure this viable firearm was removed from our streets and the man responsible was identified.

“I want to thank the witness for reporting this matter to us and for her support throughout the investigation.

“We would continue to urge anyone with information regarding the location or possession of firearms to please report it to us immediately.”