Hailsham gun factory accused pleads guilty Published duration 1 May 2019

image copyright NCA image caption Kyle Wood will be sentenced next week

A man has pleaded guilty to conspiring to sell or supply semi-automatic pistols that were being manufactured on a Sussex industrial estate.

Kyle Wood, 29, from Littlehampton, had denied the charge but changed his plea during a trial at Kingston Crown Court.

He was arrested last August after officers from the National Crime Agency raided a factory unit in Hailsham where the guns were being made.

Police discovered parts that could have been made into more than 100 guns.

Weapons from the factory were sold to London criminals and were linked to eight crime scenes including two attempted murders, the court was told.

Wood had denied a second charge of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and that will be left on file.

image copyright Gareth Fuller/PA image caption The gun factory was discovered at a workshop on the Diplocks industrial estate

In October he admitted possessing a pistol and 24 rounds of ammunition after being "caught red-handed with a Browning 1922 pistol", the jury heard.

Wood will be sentenced next Wednesday along with Greg Akehurst, of no fixed address, who pleaded guilty to his part in the crime last year.

Akehurst admitted possession of a loaded firearm and ammunition, and conspiracy to sell or supply prohibited weapons.

A third man, Mark Kinman, 63, who pleaded guilty to the manufacture of the guns, died last year.

After the hearing, the National Crime Agency's director of investigations, Chris Farrimond, said: "We know these weapons were lethal and for the criminal marketplace. The fact they had no serial markings made them all the more valuable to criminals."

image copyright Jessup/Mitchell image caption The unit was raided in August 2018

Related Topics Littlehampton

Hailsham