Suspended term over gun, bullets

A 21-year-old man who was caught hiding 17 bullets and an imitation gun has been given a suspended prison term.

Edward Hall, from Ballyfore Park in Newtownabbey, initially told police that he found the items in a bag under a bush while walking his dog.

He eventually admitted possessing the bullets and weapon under suspicious circumstances.

Police found them in a holdall during a search of Hall's home on 30 October 2005.

Handing down the suspended jail term, Judge Rodgers said while the gun may not have been used to kill anyone, such firearms were used "day and daily in the furtherance of crime".

He said the bullets "may well have been used to inflict serious injury and possibly death".

He also described Hall's initial account of how he came to have the items as "a cock and bull story".

The judge said he was suspending the jail term as he viewed the case as exceptional given the delay in bringing it to court and also because of Hall's clear record.