Boy, 17, jailed after gun and bullets found in car

A teenage boy from Staffordshire has been jailed after he was found with a handgun and bullets.

The boy, 17, from Cannock, who cannot be named due to his age, was sentenced to three years and four months in prison at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on Thursday after previously admitting possession of a firearm and ammunition without a certificate.

The gun was discovered when officers stopped a Fiat Punto in Weston Coyney, Stoke-on-Trent, on 24 June last year, following reports it was being driven erratically.

DNA checks on the weapon returned a match for the boy.

Det Sgt Marc Proctor from Staffordshire Police said: "I want local communities to know that we're working extremely hard every single day to compile intelligence and to act robustly against the gangs and individuals responsible for serious offences, like this, across Staffordshire."

He said more than 1,000 people had been arrested on suspicion of drug and weapon offences since the force launched a crackdown in May 2023.

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