A FARMER admitted hiding an unlicensed firearm in an old freezer, when he appeared before magistrates yesterday.

Gordon Sedgewick, 44, of Binchester Hall Farm, Binchester, near Spennymoor, admitted possessing a Baikal 20 bore single-barrelled shotgun without a licence.

The court heard that he panicked after police visited his home about an unrelated incident and moved the gun from under his bed to the disused freezer in an outside building.

Police called at the property again, on August 31, after young men reported being threatened by Sedgewick and discovered the firearm.

Bishop Auckland magistrates heard the gun had been left at the farm 15 years previously after it was used for shooting vermin. When it was found it was covered in cobwebs.

Sedgewick was given a 12 month conditional discharge and ordered to pay costs of £55. An order was made for the destruction of the firearm.