A GUN shop owner — who claimed he was in possession of an illegal weapon to humanely kill deer — has been jailed for three years.

Cyrus Shahabi-Shack, who used to run The Lancashire Gunroom in Halliwell Road, was found guilty of possessing an illegal firearm in July.

Nicholas Doherty, defending, told Bolton Crown Court Shahabi-Shack should be given a suspended prison sentence as the case involved “exceptional circumstances”.

But Judge Elliot Knopf said the government’s position on such cases was clear.

He said: “The intention of these guidelines are to deter the use of weapons and reduce the availability of weapons which are perceived to be of great danger to the public.

“The increasing regularity of firearms has resulted in the horror of guns being used at Dunblane and Hungerford, and in other cases of death or injury.”

Shahabi-Shack, aged 58, bought a Ruger .38 revolver in 2008 which had been modifed so it could carry only two bullets, in line with the licence agreement.

But, between then and December 2011, when police carried out a raid of the shop, the gun had been modified again, making it illegal for Shahabi-Shack, of Queensgate, Bolton, to carry it.

Shahabi-Shack, who did not give evidence during his trial, was unable to explain how the gun was altered during the time he was responsible for it.

Nicholas Doherty, defending, said the defendant was trying to leave the gun industry at the time of the raid, and has completed gas and plumbing courses.

The court was told that the gun shop owner is also the carer for his 15-year-old son and that he owned the gun for the “humane despatch of deer”.

Judge Knopf added: “I am satisfied having given the matter careful consideration that the offence is so serious that only a custodial sentence can be justified.”

Shahabi-Shack will spend the next 18 months in custody and will serve the rest of the term on licence.

Louis Larsson, who also uses the name Kettle, was cleared of three counts of conspiracy to possess firearms in the same trial as Shahabi-Shack.

On September 8, Larsson, already jailed until April 2016 after breaching his licence by absconding abroad, was given a 20-month concurrent sentence for two separate charges of possession of ammunition.

Bolton Crown Court heard police tracked his then-girlfriend, Big Brother winner Helen Wood, to Cyprus in order to arrest him.

Det Con Kev Bateman, of the Serious and Organised Crime Group (SOCG), said: “As a licensed firearms dealer Shahabi-Shack would have known better than anyone the importance of keeping his firearms in their original state.

“All firearms are lethal weapons, but modified pieces pose an even greater threat because they no longer perform the task they were designed for.

“The current gun laws are in place to ensure only licenced holders hold the weapons for which they are licenced.”