Men jailed over gun and 'sinister' clown mask find

Akelle Charles and Ricardo Thomas both admitted admitted possession of a firearm and ammunition

Two men have been jailed after a gun used in a shooting was found in the boot of their car, along with ammunition and a "sinister" clown mask .

Akelle Charles and Ricardo Thomas had driven from London to Wolverhampton on 26 October before setting off the next day on the M40 when they were stopped by police at Warwick Services.

Officers found the weapon, linked to a shooting in London a month earlier in which shots were fired at a house, 15 rounds of ammunition and the mask, West Midlands Police said.

Charles was sentenced to six years and nine months, and Thomas was jailed for eight years on Tuesday after they both admitted possession of a firearm and ammunition.

The mask was found inside the vehicle

The pair stopped in the Cannock Road area of Wolverhampton, before heading southbound on to the M40 motorway and being stopped by police at the services at about 21:00 GMT.

The pistol was recovered from a black Nike bag and forensic analysis linked it to bullet cases left at the scene of the shooting the month before, the force said.

Messages subsequently recovered from the men's phones suggested they both had heavy involvement and knowledge of firearms, police said.

Charles, of St Anne's Road, Wolverhampton, and Thomas, of Devonport Road, London were jailed at Birmingham Crown Court.

Det Insp Amar Patel, from the force's regional organised crime unit, said: "These men were heading back towards London at the time of their arrest with a loaded firearm, gloves and a mask in a car hired in someone else’s name.

"We’ll never know what their plans were, but we have taken a loaded gun and two dangerous men off the streets."