A MAN who was caught with a shotgun despite not having a licence has avoided a jail term.

Stephen Rendle was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £85 costs when he appeared for sentencing at Worcester Magistrates Court.

The 53-year-old, of Hornhill Farm, Earls Common, near Droitwich, pleaded guilty to the charge at a previous hearing and was told then by deputy district judge Anita Price that he could face custody.

Rendle’s wife, Kirstie, received the same sentence for failing to comply with the conditions of the certificate by allowing a shotgun to be used by a non-certificate holder.