Man jailed over home arsenal of 28 firearms

A man who kept 28 firearms including pistols and shotguns at his village home has been jailed for five years and four months.

Police were alerted to Philip Maylen's domestic arsenal when Border Force officials intercepted a parcel of gun parts addressed to him.

They raided his home in Kingsclere, Hampshire, in December 2024 and found four Glock pistols, nine shotguns, six long-barrelled firearms and a deactivated Bren machine gun among other weapons.

The 58-year-old pleaded guilty at Reading Crown Court to 15 counts of possession of a prohibited firearm and one count of possession of ammunition without a certificate.

Maylen, of Penny's Hatch, bought guns and components from companies in the UK, United States, Canada, New Zealand and Estonia, police said.

He spent at least £16,000 on weapons over a five-year period, according to the National Crime Agency.

NCA manager Tim Lambert said: "This is one of the largest caches of illegal firearms I have seen at a single address.

"Maylen also put himself at risk of being targeted by criminals who might have attempted to take the guns from him, had they known about them."

The NCA said Maylen's motive for stockpiling the weapons was not discovered.

The haul, found over the course of a two-day search, also included 11 replica firearms and 100 bullets, the agency added.

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