Blackburn magistrates accepted that a man found with a loaded air pistol in the back of his car had been ‘silly,’ not dangerous.

Thomas Andrew Mackenzie, 23 had locked the weapon in the boot of his car when he transferred it from his Land Rover which had broken down.

Jonathan Taylor, defending, said it was an oversight and that he knew he should have stored it at home.

Mackenzie, of Clitheroe Road, West Bradford, pleaded guilty to possessing a loaded air weapon in a public place, possession of cannabis and driving without insurance.

Magistrates were told he had a previous caution for a similar offence.

He was remanded on bail for preparation of a pre-sentence report .