Son Faces Three Years After Dad Alerts Police

A teenager has been imprisoned for three years after his father told police he had found ammunition in his son's bedroom.

Neil Metcalfe, 43, found 11 bullets in his 19-year-old son's room and alerted the police.

After a search, police also found a semi-automatic gun under the bed.

Paul Metcalfe, 19, pleaded guilty to possession of a weapon and the ammunition at Burnley Crown Court.

The former Primet High School pupil is a full-time carer for his disabled mother.

Mr Metcalfe, from Nelson in Lancashire, said he did "the right thing" and he would do the "same thing again".

However, he said he felt guilt that his son would be in jail for so long and that he "felt sorry" for him.

Systems engineer Neil said: "The minute I saw the bullets, I froze. I thought if these get in the wrong hands they could kill.

"It was a no-brainer. I called police straight away. I had to do it. I believe I may have potentially saved 11 lives.

"If I'd turned a blind eye and someone had been killed with one of those bullets, I couldn't have lived with myself.

"Parents have a responsibility to do the right thing no matter how hard it is. The action I took was the only option."

The minimum sentence for possession of a firearm is five years although the judge took into account that his father had informed police and he did not want to deter other parents from doing the same.

Sentencing Metcalfe, the judge said that "the use of cannabis acted as a gateway from a respectable life to the foul and dangerous world of drugs".

Before the case, it is reported that Metcalfe had said "he was not looking forward to going to prison" and that "he wanted to get back on track".

The handgun that was found has originally been a blank-firing weapon that had been converted to fire live rounds.

Metcalfe did not tell police where he got the gun "for fear of reprisals".

He will serve his sentence in a young offenders' institution.

(DS)