AN arsenal of weapons was found by police at the Worcestershire smallholding where a suspected burglar was shot in the leg, a court was told.

There were 11 which were unlawfully held, said firearms expert Keith Bushby, and these included a gaming rifle so powerful it could be used for shooting elephants and rhinos.

He told a jury at Worcester Crown Court that there were legal certificates for 14 items, which included ammunition and a silencer. But some of the weapons were very old and corroded in some cases.

Mr Bushby, with 47 years’ experience of firearms, was giving evidence in the trial of Robert Richards, aged 29, of Scholars Green, Birmingham, and 25-year-old Darren Randall, of Yardley Fields Road, Birmingham, who deny aggravated attempted burglary.

They are accused of being in a gang which targeted the home in October last year of Malcolm White at Stocking Gobbetts in Whitbourne, near Worcester, which was being used as a cannabis factory.

Prosecutor Stephen Thomas said Mr White and his partner Josephine Merrick were watching TV when their front window was smashed.

Mr White grabbed a shotgun from his gun cabinet, went outside and allegedly shot Richards in his right leg. It was later amputated and he now has a metal replacement.

Forensic investigator Katherine Scott said she had examined hospital X-ray pictures of the pellets lodged in Richards’ leg. She estimated the shot had been fired from a distance of four to five metres.

Cross-examined by defence counsel Martin Butterworth, Mr Bushby said he also discovered a propellant which could have been used to build ammunition. There were also 100 bullets still in their Army-issue box.

In a statement read to the jury, PC Wayne Strangewood said he was called to Stocking Gobbetts at 8.25pm on October 5 where he saw the smashed window.

Mr White showed him the shotgun he had fired and the used cartridge.

He thought the raiders were after his Audi car which was on the drive.

The jury has been told that Richards was later found in a wounded state near a Chinese takeway at Leigh Sinton. He claimed he was just walking in the village when he was shot.

The trial continues.