Man jailed for 10 years after using 3D printer to make guns at home

Matthews admitted to using the machine to produce four viable hybrid semi-automatic rifles known as FGC-9s.

He was also sentenced to 10 concurrent sentences of one year for possessing hundreds of rounds of homemade 9mm ammunition.

Matthews was ordered to pay a victim a surcharge of £288.

He pleaded guilty to four counts of manufacturing a weapon, device or ammunition specified in section 5(1) of the Firearms Act 1968.

Matthews also admitted to a further 10 counts of possessing ammunition for a firearm without a certificate at a hearing in October last year.

Staffordshire Police were called to reports of a man with a gun on Wetmore Road in Burton-on-Trent at 8.15pm on July 10, 2022.

• Toddlers with trans father subjected to 'transphobic hate crime' in park by group of children
• Man arrested after police find 'suspicious substances' and carry out 'controlled
• 'Sick people' glued nails on swings and slides in children's playground leaving locals horrified

Armed police swooped the scene and found Matthews with two guns on the floor.

Staffordshire Police arrested the 60-year-old and searched his address.

Officers found two further 3D-printed guns and around 800 rounds of 9mm ammunition.

Detective Constable Jack Jones, from CID South, said: "Matthews told us he had made these weapons using a 3D printer and items he bought online ‘out of curiosity’.

"The reality is that these were viable weapons that were tested and shown to be capable of firing live ammunition.

"Our message is clear; that weapons manufactured using 3D printers will be treated as seriously as any other traditional firearm and those who make them can expect to be given lengthy prison sentences as a result."

There has been an increase in the number of 3D printed guns found in the UK in recent years.

Police Scotland found the first tranche of 3D printed earlier this year and three men were separately charged over a far-right terror plot.