Lifeboat crewman kept firearms under his bed

A LIFEBOAT crew member's exemplary character saved him from a prison sentence after he admitted four firearms offences.

James Youlton had three unlicensed shotguns, excess ammunition, two shotgun cartridges in his car and his licensed guns were not kept in a secure place that could not be accessed by the public.

Judge Cherry McMillen said that had the guns and ammunition fallen into the wrong hands 'the potential for horror would be great'.

'It was a dereliction of duty to the community,' she said.

But Judge McMillen said Mr Youlton's public service - as a marine mechanic and crewmember on the Guernsey lifeboat - had 'come into play' and saved him from an immediate prison sentence.

She instead imposed two months in prison suspended for two years and fined him £2,500.

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