THE owner of a gun shop who sold weapons to the three Blackburn men accused of terrorism described them as ‘just silly kids’.

Frank Kay, who runs Framar, King Street, Blackburn, said he sold Abbas and Ilyas Iqbal the majority of the weapons that made up their collections discovered by police at their home.

Mr Kay told police he was fond of Abbas and Ilyas and their friend Muhammed Ali-Ahmad.

Mr Kay, who has run his shop for more than 20 years, said: “I have known Abbas, the nephew of a friend, since he was about 17.

“He was assertive, had his opinions. He could be irritating sometimes.

"He wouldn’t take no for an answer and was a typical head-strong young man”.

Mr Kay said the pair would discuss religion and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as Abbas made regular visits to his shops sometimes staying for hours at a time.

He said: “I don’t remember him saying anything that I would say would alarm me.”

He later met Ilyas and Ahmad and the three would pose with weapons in his store for photographs.

The court heard how Abbas showed him his weapons cabinet, he said: “ I made a comment to him, ‘If the police see that it is going to look a little peculiar’.”

The former engineer said that one time Abbas helped tackle an abusive customer in his shop and they would share jokes about the way he dressed in military gear.

The court also heard from Nabil Usman, the former manager of Alliance Chemists, Accrington Road, Blackburn, where Ahmad had worked.

He said: “I am aware that he is opposed to the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“He has however never made any comments about harming anyone despite the facts that he disagreed with the conflict.”

Nicola Clarke, a dispenser at the pharmacy at the chemists, who knew Ahmad for around two years said: “He was very religious and very devoted to Islam.

“We had quite a few disputes because we are both from different backgrounds.

“He wasn’t bothered about soldiers getting killed (British and American).

"He said they shouldn’t have been there in the first place.

“We did have a talk about suicide bombers. He said they weren’t really Iraqi people.

"It was something to do with the Americans setting them up.”

(Proceeding).