POLICE swooped after reports of a man firing a pump-action shotgun out the window of a Land Rover.

Neil Taylor, 22, had been loaned the 12 gauge Winchester shotgun by his father, who owned a farm over the Northamptonshire-Oxfordshire border. He’d taken the gun to shoot vermin.

Prosecutor Ann Sawyer-Brandish told Oxford Magistrates’ Court that a member of the public noticed a Land Rover in Cropredy, near Banbury, at around 7pm on June 28, 2020. 

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“She saw the same vehicle again 15 minutes later when she was driving. She saw the barrel of a shotgun emerging through the front passenger open window and she heard a shot and saw smoke in the hedgerow,” the prosecutor said. 

“She took the registration of the vehicle and she passed it to the police. 

“Officers were deployed to the scene. The vehicle was stopped about 15 minutes later very close to where the incident happened. 

“Officers approached and they saw what they thought was the shotgun being moved to the rear seat. There were three occupants in the vehicle at the time. 

“They were all arrested and a Winchester semi-automatic single-barrelled pump-action shotgun was recovered from the rear seat. At the time it was not loaded but there were cartridges in the vehicle and a number of live cartridges.”

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Taylor’s father was spoken to by police and admitted lending his son the shotgun to shoot vermin. 

Mitigating, Thomas Williams said one of the 4x4’s occupants had a firearms licence, which in some cases can cover others to shoot – although it did not apply in his client’s case. There was ‘probably not enough carefulness about exactly what the rules were’, he said. 

The young man, who appeared in court via video link from America, had one previous conviction for drink driving. He had finished his education and was now volunteering with a project to help disabled children ride horses. He hoped to work with horses in the future.

'Substantial effect

Mr Williams said: “Clearly the conviction, no matter what the sentence is, is going to have a substantial effect.” 

Taylor, of Aston le Walls, Northamptonshire, pleaded guilty to possession of a loaded shotgun in a public place and possession of a shotgun without a licence. 

District Judge Kamlesh Rana imposed an 18 month community order with 200 hours of unpaid work. He must pay £180 in costs and surcharge.

Taylor was asked how quickly he could come back to the UK to begin his community service. He said he would have to see what his ‘work situation’ was and the rules around travel. 

The judge suggested he should return to the UK soon. “The ball’s in your court, Mr Taylor,” she said. The defendant responded that he was fully willing to comply with the order. 

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