Jail for Newall Green couple who had submachine gun and cannabis farm in their house

By Alex Johnston, news correspondent

Partners of gun runners were warned to expect strict punishment yesterday as a 45-year-old Gran was jailed for eight years in prison for hiding weapons.

Kimberley Bray’s partner Peter Taylor was also jailed for 17 years yesterday for possession of firearms and production of a Class B drug, after police found the items and a cannabis farm in his house in Newall Green.

The house in which the couple lived, on Burbage Road, was raided by police in January, and found to contain a Skorpion submachine gun, a semi-automatic shotgun, and two pistols.

Taylor, 46, pleaded guilty to possession of firearms with intent to endanger life, but, despite claiming he was storing the weapons for someone else, refused to disclose who this was.

Police yesterday warned partners such as Bray, who was convicted for possessing the shotgun, of the dangers of helping their partners.

Detective Sergeant Paul Walker said: “If you get involved in firearms in any way, you’re going to jail.

“Taylor has never said why or for whom he was storing these guns, but it does not matter why you have one or if you don’t fire the weapon-minding it for someone or hiding it carries a mandatory prison sentence,” he added.

The raid was conducted as part of a police investigation into a shooting in Wythenshawe in October of last year, where a 24-year-old man was shot in the leg on Cotefield Road, Woodhouse Park.

Police found that the guns, one of which was found stashed in a wardrobe, had been used in other shooting incidents in the region over the last decade.

DS Walker acknowledged the dangers of such weaponry, saying it was among the most destructive the force had ever seized.

He said: “These were very high-calibre weapons and included a submachine gun, capable of firing several hundred rounds per minute.”

Anyone with information about firearms in their area should call Greater Manchester Police on 0161 872 5050 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.