A farmer who kept an unlicensed firearm behind a sofa for several years has been spared a jail term.
David William Llwyd Thomas had initially denied the charge of possessing the bolt action magazine-fed shotgun without a valid firearm certificate and was due to stand trial.
But the 52-year-old, of Cefn Gwyn, Trawsfynydd near Blaenau Ffestiniog, asked for the charge to be put again just before a trial was due to start at Caernarfon Crown Court.
After admitting the offence, he was handed a nine-month prison term which was suspended for 12 months.
Judge Huw Rees said: “Your offence is best summed up in one of your character references which states this was an oversight.
“But it was a serious oversight and this is a serious matter.”
Thomas had been due to stand trial on two charges of possessing shotguns without a valid certificate after police visited his home in February last year.
But prosecutors offered no evidence in respect of these charges after Thomas’ defence team provided evidence that there was a firearms certificate in place at the time.
The judge ordered formal not guilty verdicts be recorded.
A fourth charge, of possessing a prohibited weapon, was ordered to lie on the file.
This item was said to be a firearm disguised as a walking stick.
Peter Glenser QC, for Thomas, argued the walking stick had a visible trigger and guard and should not be considered to be a disguised firearm.
The lawyer added such items could have been used as both a weapon and a walking stick and were historically popular.
Prosecutor Jo Maxwell said that, after reviewing the evidence and discussing the matter with an expert, it had been decided it would not be in the public interest to proceed to trial on the charge.
Details in which the firearms were found were not revealed in court, but the judge remarked that Thomas’ licences and certificates to hold guns had now been revoked.
