POLICE are praising a conscientious man who handed over a sawn-off rifle unearthed by his dog.
The man was exercising his labrador in Kirkleatham Woods, near the Kirkleatham showground in Redcar, on Friday, when the dog found the gun buried in undergrowth.
The .22 rifle stock and barrel had been sawn off and will now be sent to a specialist ballistics laboratory in Cambridgeshire, where tests should establish whether it has been used in any crimes. It will ultimately be destroyed.
The man, who did not wish to be identified, has been praised by Detective Inspector Steve Richards, from Cleveland Police.
"It is an evil-looking weapon and having had a close look at it, I am in no doubt that it would have been used in a violent crime if this public-spirited gentleman and his dog, of course, hadn't brought it to our attention.
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