A JUDGE was right to describe a gun owner as “reckless” but handed down too harsh a sentence, the Supreme Court has found.

Shooter Sean Leigh was convicted, fined and banned from owning guns for three years after leaving his .308 rifle on his car dashboard overnight, only for it to be stolen in a 2am smash-and-grab.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to secure the gun and 20 rounds of ammo.

But Justice Graham Hiley, on appeal, found the combination of a conviction, a $2000 fine, a one-year ban and an automatic two-year ban was excessive.

The original judge said: “it is inherently serious that there is now this firearm and ammunition out there. Leaving one on the dashboard is bad enough but you shouldn’t have left ammunition with it as well.”

Duncan McConnel, for Leigh, argued the original judge was wrong to call the crime “reckless” but Justice Hiley said the word didn’t necessarily have a legal meaning. “This was merely his Honour’s way of describing the appellant’s conduct in leaving the rifle and ammunition where he did,” he said.