One gun’s reign of fear

This pistol has been fired 19 times by criminals – more than any other in Britain

A GUN seized by police has been identified as ‘the most criminally used firearm in Britain’, it was revealed yesterday.

The pistol has been used in 19 shootings in the past seven years – more than any other in the UK. Police found the loaded Beretta 9000S hidden behind a toilet when they raided the home of a convicted burglar.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that Adam Bigley, 24, hid the pistol in the bathroom of the home he shared with his parents, in Kirkby, Merseyside, on July 17 this year. Bigley’s DNA, along with that of three others, was found on the safety catch of the weapon.

A magazine was attached, containing four bullets.

Andrew Alty, defending, cautioned that his client was being sentenced for his possession of the gun and not for its previous use.

‘His intention was to hand the weapon back to the person who originally gave it to him,’ the barrister said.

It was discovered in a raid 24 hours after a nearby shooting, in which a gunman jumped from a car and shot at another vehicle.

However, there was no evidence the pistol was used in that incident or that Bigley was involved.

Bigley, who has 15 previous convictions and was locked up for robbery and vehicle theft in 2014, admitted possession of a prohibited firearm and ammunition without a firearm certificate.

Jailing him for six years and nine months, Judge Norman Wright said gun crime in Liverpool was an ‘extremely serious’ problem.

‘It is disquieting to know that this particular firearm had been used on 19 previous occasions,’ the judge said. ‘Firearms, particularly pistols of this sort, are extremely highly valued in criminal organisations.

‘Being so valuable, only extremely trusted people are asked to mind or hold these sort of weapons. The conclusion I draw in this case is you were someone who was highly trusted by the owners or principal users of this firearm.’

Liverpool is experiencing a worrying spike in gun crime. Over the past 18 months there have been more than 100 shootings, including five murders, in the region. There were seven incidents in June alone.

So far this year Merseyside Police say there have been 60 shootings in the region and three fatalities – the same number as the whole of 2015.

A spokesman said that while they would consider any incident to be ‘one firearm discharge too many,’ the figures were still better than other years. In 2012, gun crime in the region hit a seven-year high, with 125 shootings and six fatalities.