Firearms hoarder jailed after 150 weapons found in his garden shed

Firearms hoarder jailed after 150 weapons found in his garden shed

CREDIT: Twitter @MerseyPolice

Firearms hoarder jailed after 150 weapons found in his garden shed.

WILLIAM Hesketh, 58, of Sutton Leach, was sentenced to three years behind bars after police discovered more than 150 weapons in his garden shed.

Merseyside Police raided Hesketh’s home on December 10, 2019 under the offensive weapons act.

Inside a shed at the back of the house, they located numerous weapons including 57 firearms/air weapons, 40 large knives/machetes, 38 air pistols, 20 folding knives, ten swords, three crossbows, two axes, two wooden handled flick knives, two knuckle dusters, a zombie knife and a Taser.

Hesketh was arrested at the scene for firearms offences.

Following a yearlong investigation, “hampered by the national coronavirus pandemic”, Hesketh eventually appeared at Liverpool Crown Court where he pleaded guilty to multiple firearms offences.

DC Chris Clark said: “This result shows the consequences of owning any weapon can bring. Not only this, Hesketh stored these dangerous weapons in his garden shed, putting himself and the wider community at significant risk if they were to fall into the wrong hands.

“I welcome his sentence and I hope this encourages others to tell us if they know where weapons are being kept, who has them and who is using them.”

Hesketh pleaded guilty to: possession a prohibited firearm, two counts of possession of a firearm without a certificate, two counts of possession of ammunition for a firearm without a certificate and two counts of possession of a weapon for the discharge (a noxious liquid/gas/electrical incapacitation device).

Along with the weapons that were stored in his shed, Hesketh was also found with a prohibited loaded firearm under his bed – an illegal weapon that had been converted from a blank firing gun.

If you know someone storing, buying or carrying weapons, please get in touch – either DM @MerPolCC, contact @CrimestoppersUK anonymously or call 101.


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Tara Rippin

Tara Rippin is a reporter for Spain’s largest English-speaking newspaper, Euro Weekly News, and is responsible for the Costa Blanca region.
She has been in journalism for more than 20 years, having worked for local newspapers in the Midlands, UK, before relocating to Spain in 1990.
Since arriving, the mother-of-one has made her home on the Costa Blanca, while spending 18 months at the EWN head office in Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol.
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