Man's lawyer calls him 'isolated and pathetic' as police arrest him after vacuum cleaner box discovery

A 'pathetic' man who stored a deadly weapon in a vacuum cleaner box was 'easy prey' for serious criminals, his lawyer said. Paul Miles, 44, stashed a Walther P22 and associated ammunition.

The self-loading pistol was found wrapped in a pink towel within another inner box, which had been kept on the top of a unit in the living room of a property in Salford. Miles was not in the house when police arrived on August 31 last year, Manchester Crown Court heard.

His partner was present, and she told officers that a small amount of cannabis they discovered belonged to him. The gun was later tested and found to be working order.

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Later that day police raided Miles' home in Little Hulton and seized a further quantity of cannabis, prosecutor Eleanor Gleeson said. A few days later, Miles walked into Swinton police station to hand himself in.

After being arrested and interviewed, Miles told a detective: "I'm just going to admit this at court, I've no choice." Miles, of Kenyon Grove, Little Hulton, pleaded guilty to possessing a prohibited firearm, possessing ammunition without a certificate and possessing cannabis.

"The most pre-eminent mitigation available to Mr Miles must be his pleas of guilty," his barrister Mark Friend said, adding that he has displayed 'genuine contrition'.

"He is an unsophisticated individual, perhaps in some ways living a rather difficult, isolated and pathetic life," Mr Friend said. He told the court that Miles has experienced a 'number of traumatic life events' and has had issues with his physical and mental health.

"No doubt relatively easy prey, I would respectfully submit, for those who require others to burden themselves with all