Grandmother spared jail over unlawful gun possession

A GRANDMOTHER whose unlawful possession of a revolver and ammunition was discovered after the weapon had been stolen from her home has been spared a jail term of up to five years.

Kathleen Woodward, 64, wiped tears from her eyes as a judge admonished her and told her she was free to leave court yesterday.

Prosecutors defended the decision to pursue the court action, and court authorities and Grampian Police claimed it was too early to say how much the case cost the public purse.

The gun had belonged to Mrs Woodward’s late husband, who died in 1999, and was kept in a cash box in a safe. She insisted she had “overlooked it” when she disposed of several other licensed firearms after his death.

A thief took the box, unaware of its contents, during a break-in at Mrs Woodward’s home in Forres, Moray. She alerted police and the revolver was recovered.

Lady Stacey heard that Mrs Woodward was a devoted charity worker who had led a useful, law-abiding life, and had been shamed by her appearance in court. She had been unable to bring herself to go to church for three weeks because of her remorse.

“The fact of having a conviction is a punishment in itself and, in my opinion, there is no need for this court to impose any further punishment on you,” the judge told Mrs Woodward.

“I accept that while you knew of the existence of the firearm, you did not know where your late husband had got it, and as he was licensed to hold some firearms you did not appreciate that this one was held illegally.”

Parliament has laid down a five-year minimum jail term for possessing prohibited weapons, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

The court heard that Guy Whitelaw, 29, had unwittingly stolen the Harrington and Richardson seven-shot revolver and more than 500 hollow point rounds when he broke into Mrs Woodward’s home in March last year. Later, on discovering he had the gun and realising he could be jailed for five years, he buried it. Whitelaw was given a five-year term under the Firearms Act, later reduced to six months on appeal.

A spokesman for the Crown Office said: “The legislation is in place in part to ensure that firearms do not fall into the hands of criminals, as happened in this case.

“The decision to prosecute was taken after full and careful consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case. The potential danger of a firearm cannot be underestimated.”

Defence counsel Barry Smith had told the court that Mrs Woodward did not know how the revolver came into her husband’s possession, but that he had licences for other guns stored in a secure gun cupboard.

A friend had organised their disposal through an authorised dealer after her husband’s death.

Mr Smith said: “She had no reason to believe her husband’s possession of the revolver had been unlawful.

“She knew he was a licensed and responsible holder of other firearms.

“She retained many of his personal effects for well in excess of ten years, items for which she had no practical use. She says she ‘not so much kept them, just that I had not got rid of them’.

“It was in these circumstances that the other firearms were disposed of, but the revolver and ammunition were overlooked.”

Mrs Woodward declined to comment as she left court.