Sawn-off shotgun pair Yasir Nassir and Kuldipsingh Atwal from Walsall jailed

TWO men from Walsall have been jailed after police found sawn-off shotguns under the seats of a car.

Firearms officers pulled over the Citroen C3 driven by Yasir Nassir at 5am on September 10 last year in Newtown Row, Birmingham.

They spotted shotgun cartridges in the rear seat footwell and a search of the car – in which Kuldipsingh Atwal was a passenger – uncovered two short-barrelled firearms, plus a starter pistol, hidden under the seats.

Subsequent searches of 45-year-old Nassir's home in Moncrieffe Street, Walsall, uncovered another shotgun, a silencer, two air rifles, pellets and blank 6mm cartridges.

Both Nassir and 49-year-old Atwal, from Stafford Street in Walsall, denied knowledge of the guns but refused to answer any police questions when interviewed.

Nassir went on to admit possessing firearms with Atwal found guilty on the same offences and at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday (March 10) they were jailed for seven and eight years respectively.

West Midlands Police Detective Inspector Vanessa Eyles said the tough sentences should act as a warning to anyone possessing illegal firearms.

She said: "This was a great piece of police work: intelligence suggested the car was linked to firearms and the information proved spot on. Firearms officers did a brilliant job in safely stopping the car, arresting the man and securing the weapons. 

"Atwal and Nassir tried to distance themselves from the weapons but that's not easy when you're driving around in a car in the early hours of the morning with them at your feet.

"We had no evidence these shotguns had been fired in anger but possession alone leaves offenders facing many years behind bars. This result is a strong message to the criminal fraternity that holding illegal weapons will be dealt with severely by us and the courts."

Both men have previous convictions for violent offences. Atwal was convicted in 2011 at Wolverhampton Crown Court for robbery and jailed for three years, while Nassir was given a four-and-a-half year sentence, also for robbery, at Lincoln Crown Court in 2010.

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2017:Police name woman stabbed to death by brother in Wolverhampton

A woman who was stabbed to death by her brother, who later turned the blade on himself, has been named as Ann-Marie James, the 33-year-old sister of the attacker.

Her mother, 59, is fighting for her life in hospital, West Midlands police said.

Melvin, whose full name has not been given by police, attacked them in a first-floor flat in Merry Hill, Wolverhampton, on Wednesday morning.

Following the confrontation, the 36-year-old died from what were believed to have been self-inflicted wounds, the force said. A postmortem examination found he died from multiple stab wounds, while his sister died as a result of a stab wound to the chest.

Their mother has undergone surgery after being taken to hospital with serious abdominal stab wounds, but remains in a critical condition. 

Armed police used stun grenades to distract the attacker as they stormed the 16-storey block. One officer who responded to reports of the attack at 9.45am received a small knife wound to his arm and another sustained a leg injury. 

Det Insp Warren Hines said: “The family are absolutely devastated at the loss of Ann-Marie and Melvin, two people who were really dear to them. They have asked that their privacy is respected so they are able to grieve at this difficult time. My thoughts remain with the family”