Teen jailed after father tips off police

A teenager was jailed on Friday for possessing a gun after his father handed him in to police when he found the weapon and bullets in his home.

Paul Metcalfe, 19, of Nelson, in Lancashire, was jailed for three years after his father, Neil, 45, turned him over to the authorities.

He had faced a maximum five-year term after he pleaded guilty to firearm offences at an earlier hearing.

The teenager hid the weapon - a reactivated semi-automatic pistol with 11 live bullets - for some older men because he was frightened of them.

After sentencing, his father said he had no regrets, although he did think the sentence was too long.

"I think I did the right thing," he told reporters outside court. "I don't think he should have walked out of court, but 18 months or two years maybe - people get less for GBH."

Detective Inspector Derek Jones, of Lancashire Police, said the judge had done the right thing in balancing the case.

He said the gun could have been used to commit murder or robberies if it landed in the wrong hands.

"The minimum sentence is still 5 years (for possessing a gun)," he told reporters. "The reason Metcalfe didn't receive that, is (because of) the circumstances of his case.

"I think his father has to be commended, but what he did is not unusual."

Before sentencing the teenager had told newspapers that he was scared of the consequences.

"Although I'm scared of going to prison, I feel dad saved me," he was quoted as saying. "I was angry with him at the time. Now I know why he did it and respect him for it. I'd got in with the wrong crowd."