A WELL-known village chip shop boss is behind bars after police found 12 guns stashed away at his Edenfield home.

Ex-convict William Bispham, 40, known as Gary, was banned from possessing firearms for life after serving a seven year jail term for gun offences.

But police found air weapons, including four "realistic looking pistols," hidden away at his house next to the chippy in Market Street, Burnley Crown Court heard.

He was jailed for 15 months, after admitting three counts of possessing an air weapon when prohibited and asking for nine offences to be considered.

Judge Simon Newell said he knew and the police knew that the guns were air weapons, but they were realistic looking and their visual appearance would be of great concern.

The judge said it was not suggested Bispham, who had engineering experience, had had any sinister intentions. Burnley Crown Court heard in December 1996, the defendant was sent to prison for seven years for attempting to recommission a sub machine gun, shortening a shotgun barrel and possessing amm-unition.

On his release in April, 2000, Bispham, who owns the chip shop with partner Wendy Bagshaw, would have signed a form infor-ming him he was banned from anything to do with firearms for the rest of his life.

David Macro, prose-cuting, said on June 12 police searched Bispham's home after information about firearms at the address. They found eight air rifles and four pistols as well as pellets. The rifles were in a cupboard in a bedroom and a tool box was on the floor.

The box covered a "cut-out," in the floor and directly below it was a second box built into the floor. It contained three pistols and pellets. A further pistol and more pellets were discovered. A firearms expert found the guns were all fully functioning.

Mr Macro said the defendant's convictions in 1996 came about as a result of an undercover Channel 4 documentary.

Mark Lamberty, defending, said Mrs Bagshaw had also been arrested.

There was no evidence of any manu-facture, alteration or repair work to the weapons. Bispham was in court simply because of the presence of the weapons in his house.

Mr Lamberty said the seriousness of the offences was that the weapons might have fallen into the wrong hands. And that would be recognised by a custodial sentence.