A weapons enthusiast has been spared a jail sentence after claiming that he kept a potentially lethal taser to fend off aggressive badgers.
Paul Osborne was apprehended in possession of an illicit shotgun, a more than half-meter-long curved sword, a butterfly knife, and two knuckledusters.
Because the taser was concealed as a torch and is regarded as a prohibited firearm, he could have faced a mandatory five-year prison sentence. However, an Exeter Crown Court judge determined that there were extraordinary circumstances that precluded the imposition of such a penalty.
Osborne, who has never been convicted before, possessed a shotgun licence for fifteen years before it was cancelled in 2022 following the shootings at Keyham.
He lied to the force’s weapons unit about selling the Revo shotgun to Ladds Guns in Crediton when in fact he was supposed to turn it in to the police.
Actually, he had stashed it in the attic of his Exeter house, inside black garbage bags.
After being arrested at his new address in Topsham, it was discovered by the police, and he returned to the property to conduct a search. In the loft area, they discovered every weapon.
Osborne, 60, of Globefield, Topsham, formerly of Headland Crescent, Exeter, admitted to five charges of having firearms in a private location, as well as to carrying a prohibited handgun and a shotgun without a permit.
Judge Stephen Climie sentenced him to 16 months in jail, two years of suspension, 200 hours of unpaid community service, and 20 days of rehabilitation.
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