Somerset Levels, Cache of Weapons

[Countryman]

My theory is that this is a collection of European specification deactivated weapons and someone has got rid because they cannot safely hand them in without risking 5 years in clink for illegal possession.

If these were all live firers they would be very hard to amass in the first place. Wonderful sensationalism.

[Racalman]

A 16 year old's Mum phones the police to say he's found an old gun in a lake and they send round the armed police.

FFS why? I know these guys have to get some action to keep their skills up but is that really proportionate?

[Countryman]

Whenever I am walking the dogs along the toll path of the local canal and I come across a section that has been drained for repair I can't help myself from giving it the once over just in case something of interest has been dumped in it at some time in the past. It all stemmed from a conversation that I had some years back with an old boy who was one of the original commandoes. He told me that he brought back a Colt .45 that he had used during the war as a war trophy. Apparently he kept this along with some ammo in a drawer amongst his socks and underwear for many years until something happened and he thought he had better get rid of it PDQ. He therefore dropped it in the local canal one morning while walking to work. I dare say that there were more than a few similar trophies disposed of in a similar manner over the years.

Following the Nightingale conviction I hear the amnesty bins at our military barracks here abouts were overflowing.

My Dad told me about a tripod mounted MG42 that he saw auctioned off in a Dover pub just after WW2.

[Countryman]

A 16 year old's Mum phones the police to say he's found an old gun in a lake and they send round the armed police.

FFS why? I know these guys have to get some action to keep their skills up but is that really proportionate?

They are the only ones trained to handle firearms.

[Racalman]

A 16 year old's Mum phones the police to say he's found an old gun in a lake and they send round the armed police.

FFS why? I know these guys have to get some action to keep their skills up but is that really proportionate?

They are the only ones trained to handle firearms.

Sorry I didn't express myself very well. Of course they need to send firearms officers, but did they need to be armed? It just sensationalises the story.

[snayperskaya]

Whenever I am walking the dogs along the toll path of the local canal and I come across a section that has been drained for repair I can't help myself from giving it the once over just in case something of interest has been dumped in it at some time in the past. It all stemmed from a conversation that I had some years back with an old boy who was one of the original commandoes. He told me that he brought back a Colt .45 that he had used during the war as a war trophy. Apparently he kept this along with some ammo in a drawer amongst his socks and underwear for many years until something happened and he thought he had better get rid of it PDQ. He therefore dropped it in the local canal one morning while walking to work. I dare say that there were more than a few similar trophies disposed of in a similar manner over the years.

When I was a scaffolder we used to do quite a bit of work for British Waterways which usually involved putting access scaffolds in canal locks that were being repaired and we were usually on site when they were drained so we could crack on as soon as the water level dropped.Anyway we were on site at a lock on the outskirts of Derby and in the bottom there was two sawn-off shotguns and a large sword, all rusted up, that had been thrown in over the years.Talking to the guys on site they said it was quite common to find guns and knives etc and even some unexploded German bombs around the Manchester and Liverpool areas.

[TomH]

Whenever I am walking the dogs along the toll path of the local canal and I come across a section that has been drained for repair I can't help myself from giving it the once over just in case something of interest has been dumped in it at some time in the past. It all stemmed from a conversation that I had some years back with an old boy who was one of the original commandoes. He told me that he brought back a Colt .45 that he had used during the war as a war trophy. Apparently he kept this along with some ammo in a drawer amongst his socks and underwear for many years until something happened and he thought he had better get rid of it PDQ. He therefore dropped it in the local canal one morning while walking to work. I dare say that there were more than a few similar trophies disposed of in a similar manner over the years.

Following the Nightingale conviction I hear the amnesty bins at our military barracks here abouts were overflowing.

My Dad told me about a tripod mounted MG42 that he saw auctioned off in a Dover pub just after WW2.

Seem to have been a fair few souvenirs around if these firearms amnesties are anything to go by:

http://www.britishpathe.com/video/post- ... ry/amnesty

http://www.britishpathe.com/video/weapo ... ry/amnesty

http://www.britishpathe.com/video/firea ... ry/amnesty

[Gaz]

A 16 year old's Mum phones the police to say he's found an old gun in a lake and they send round the armed police.

FFS why? I know these guys have to get some action to keep their skills up but is that really proportionate?

They are the only ones trained to handle firearms.

Sorry I didn't express myself very well. Of course they need to send firearms officers, but did they need to be armed? It just sensationalises the story.

I can see how "we deployed firearms officers" becomes "armed police called out", to be fair, whether or not they were carrying.

[froggy]

Should have been quite exciting for a kid ...
Cant believe he through some back instead of calling his mates and have a "play with" ... Sado ...

[Countryman]

Should have been quite exciting for a kid ...
Cant believe he through some back instead of calling his mates and have a "play with" ... Sado ...

I remember a book from my childhood called The Machinegunners about a gang of kids that recover a machine gun from a downed German Bomber and use it to shoot down another.

They clearly don't make kids like they used to.