A HERMIT who took care of a £4,000 cannabis haul and also had a gun at his home, has escaped an immediate jail term.

Burnley Crown Court heard how Colin Burke, 54, suffered from narcolepsy and spent half his time asleep. He was saved from jail after a judge was told the defendant wasn't always aware of what was going on and was "not the same as everybody else."

Sentencing Burke, Recorder David Aubrey, QC, said he had read reports from a GP and a consultant neurologist and he found exceptional circumstances to suspend a prison term - but only just.

Burke, of Rutland Close, Clayton-le-Moors, admitted possessing cannabis resin with intent to supply, possessing a firearm without a certificate and possessing ammunition. He was sentenced to 21 months in prison, suspended for two years, with a 12-month supervision order. Robert Crawford, prosecuting, said last September police searched the defendant's home and found weighing scales, kitchen knives with traces of brown resin on them and cannabis with a total street value of £4,000.

Beneath the cooker were 18 blocks of the drug, wrapped in cellophane, tied together with tape. They also found a .22 handgun, fitted with a silencer and bullets. It was later successfully discharged, firing a .22 round. When Burke was taken to the police station he said he had never used the pistol and somebody else took the cannabis to his home.

The man, whom he was not prepared to 'grass on,' but later named as Thomas Hayhurst, had paid his rent and he had to pay him back. Asked when the drugs arrived at his home, Burke replied: "God knows."

Roger Baldwin, defending, said until his arrest, Burke had not the slightest inkling about how serious what he had done was. The defendant had worked until 1980, but had since been on incapacity benefit due to narcolepsy. He spent his time fishing or in transcendental meditation and rated pretty highly on the naivety scale.

Sandra Hayhurst, of Accrington, told the court she had known Burke for 30 years and he was a hermit half the time, not opening the door for days. She said he had recently walked into a bollard because he had fallen asleep walking.

Mrs Hayhurst went on: "Colin is not a normal person, not the same as everybody else."

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