A MAN who was seen retrieving a loaded sawn-off shotgun from a bush and shoving it down his trousers has been jailed for five years.

Bolton Crown Court heard how Michael Campbell was already on bail for drug dealing offences when a witness saw him in street behind Radcliffe Road, Bury, at 8pm on July 4.

Sam Thomas was tying a scarf around his friend Campbell's face, before the two men walked off towards the White Boar pub.

Alison Heyworth, prosecuting, said that, once there, another witness sitting in a van spotted the pair loitering and heard Campbell tell Thomas keep watch.

Thomas then left in a taxi while Campbell rummaged in bushes near the pub and picked up a sawn-off shotgun which he concealed down his track suit bottoms.

The Honorary Recorder of Bolton, Judge Timothy Clayson, was told how Campbell went into the pub car park where he showed the weapon to a group of men before putting it back down his pants.

Campbell then went back to Radcliffe Road, to the home of his former partner, Stacey Openshaw. Thomas, who had been driving Ms Openshaw's car and later claimed he had been going to buy drugs, arrived as well.

The court was told that, inside the house, Campbell showed the gun to Ms Openshaw and her friend Stacey Davies.

The women asked Campbell and Thomas to leave and, when police arrived a short time later, they saw Campbell outside the kitchen window.

A police helicopter and armed police had been deployed and Thomas was arrested in a street nearby.

In the living room of the house officers found the sawn-off shotgun loaded with a live cartridge partially hidden under cushions on the sofa and a second live cartridge in Campbell's pocket.

Michael Campbell, aged 29, of Ivy Road, Bury, pleaded guilty to possessing a prohibited weapon and Thomas, aged 35, of Canterbury Drive, Bury, admitted assisting an offender.

Both men appeared for their sentencing via a video link from Forrest Bank prison.

Mark Friend, defending Campbell, said the defendant had only been involved in low level criminality before.

"This is something of an upgrade to say the least," he said.

He stressed that another, unnamed person had demanded Campbell should get the gun.

"It was not someone he sought to anger or frustrate," said Mr Friend, adding that Campbell did not know the weapon was loaded and was expecting it to be collected from the house later that evening.

Sentencing Campbell to five years in prison, on top of a six year jail sentence he was handed in September for drug dealing, Judge Clayson told him that illegal weapons are almost always involved in criminality.

"What precisely you intended to do with it (the gun) is unclear," said the judge.

Thomas was sentenced to two years in prison.

Speaking after the hearing, DC Dave Looby, of Bury police, said: “The sentences should serve as a stark reminder of how seriously the law will deal with anyone involved in gun crime.

“The gun we seized was a highly dangerous firearm and the Bury area is a safer place now this weapon is no longer in the hands of a criminal.

“We remain dedicated to removing guns from the streets of Greater Manchester and will deal robustly with anyone found possessing them illegally.”