Coalville 'weapons hoarder' jailed for 10 years
- Published
Police images of some of the weapons found at Stephen Macmahon's house
A man has been jailed for 10 years after an arsenal of weapons was found at his Leicestershire house.
Stephen Macmahon, 47, kept dozens of items, including a pump-action shotgun, pistols and stun guns, in a locked room at his house in The Oval, Coalville.
He was sentenced at Leicester Crown Court after admitting 33 charges at an earlier hearing.
Police said they also recovered instructions for a homemade hand grenade.
Detectives said Macmahon was "fascinated" by guns and had collected them over years
Charges included 13 counts of possessing a prohibited weapon, nine counts of possessing a prohibited firearm and two counts of possessing prohibited ammunition.
Police also found pellet-firing handguns, pepper sprays and illegal ammunition.
'Designed to kill'
Det Insp Tim Lindley said: "The number of weapons we recovered from Macmahon's address is more than the total number that were recovered in both Leicestershire and Lincolnshire last year.
"Macmahon was fascinated by firearms and weapons and - despite having his shotgun licence revoked - continued to collect and hoard any weapons that he was able to buy."
Officers raided the house in April and were told by Macmahon the locked room belonged to his dead father and had not been opened for three years.
But there was recent paperwork which showed the room was regularly used.
Officers found a US Army improvised munitions handbook, with a marker on a page entitled "Pipe Hand Grenade".
No grenades were found at the address, but police said it showed Macmahon's interest in weapons "specifically designed to kill people".
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