Firearms dealer cleared of 'stolen' rifles charges

Adrian Bull had been on trial at Winchester Crown Court

A firearms dealer has been cleared of three counts of handling stolen weapons.

Adrian Bull, of Devizes, Wiltshire, had denied possessing two "counterfeit" SA80 rifles and a rifle part.

Judge Richard Parkes QC ruled Mr Bull, 64, had no case to answer.

Three other men remain on trial at Winchester Crown Court over the alleged theft of weapons from a private collection on a British Army base in Warminster.

Stuart Pemberton (left) and Roger Smith deny handling stolen goods

The guns - including SA80 assault rifles and historical Mauser and Lee Enfield weapons - were taken from the Small Arms School Collection (SASC), jurors previously heard.

But prosecutors could not say where the weapons found in Mr Bull's possession had come from.

Peter Laidler, 71, is accused of 11 thefts between 1998 and 2016 while he was based at SASC.

The former police and army officer, of Marcham, near Abingdon, Oxfordshire, was acquitted by the judge of two further thefts and one count of handling stolen goods during the trial.

Roger Smith, 61, a Ministry of Defence police officer, of Bullfinch Close, Emsworth, Hampshire, faces five counts of handling stolen goods and was cleared of a sixth count during the trial.

Stuart Pemberton, 52, a former soldier, of Temple, near Corsley, Wiltshire, is charged with handling a stolen sniper rifle, which was later sold for £30,000.

The three deny all the charges against them.

The trial continues.