Woman spared jail over pistol

Judges at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh were split over Gail Cochrane's case yesterday but on a majority decision ruled that her prison term should be quashed and ordered her to carry out 240 hours community service.

Afterwards Cochrane said she was relieved the case was over, and added: "It has been a nightmare."

The grandmother of six, who spent six weeks in prison before being freed pending her appeal, said: "It was just devastating. I will never, ever do anything like that again.

"It has actually ruined my life. I hadn't got confidence or anything like that. Hopefully I will be able to hold my head up again. I am just glad to be out and get on with my life again."

She added: "It was a war trophy. I didn't have bullets or anything."

Ms Cochrane, 53, was originally jailed for the minimum term laid down by Parliament for illegal possession of the firearm, which had belonged to her late Royal Navy veteran father, earlier this year after police found the unlicensed weapon during a search at her home in Dundee.

But she appealed against the sentence with her solicitor advocate Brian Gilfedder asking judges to overturn the jail term and deal with her through a non-custodial disposal such as community service.

Lord Reed and Lord Marnoch decided that she should be spared being returned to prison, but Lord Carloway argued that a custodial sentence was appropriate for the offence of possessing the Browning 7.65 mm military pistol.