POLICE and customs officers seized a handgun and alcohol after a joint raid on a Colne off-licence.

They raided Sunny Stores in Oak Street just after 10.30am yesterday.

The raid followed complaints that the shop had been selling alcohol without a licence.

During a search of the store customs officers discovered a handgun hidden behind a counter. Police were called and the weapon was taken away for examination.

The gun later turned out to be a blank firing weapon and was returned.

The shop was cleared of alcohol, and will be kept by police until the owner applies for a new licence. If that is granted it will be returned and if not it will be destroyed.

Police warned owner Mukhter Ahmed, 36, in March that he was trading in alcohol without a licence and he applied for a temporary one.

Pennine Police's licensing officer PC Jill Sherratt said: "When the temporary licence lapsed we started to get complaints that alcohol was being sold in the shop and one of our police community support officers even witnessed a sale.

"As a result of that we got a warrant which we executed and seized all the alcohol from the shop."

Mr Ahmed will be allowed to carry on trading but will appear before Reedley magistrates on July 23 to apply for a new licence to sell alcohol.