General · 12 February 2026
Lorry driver jailed 16 years for making illegal guns
A judge has imprisoned a 60-year-old man for operating a secret firearms workshop within a South Ockenden travellers' site. Thomas McKenna altered blank-firing pistols for organised crime groups while hoarding homemade grenades for a predicted "race war" against Muslims. Detectives discovered two explosive devices during the raid, and his partner Tina Smith also received a custodial sentence for her involvement.
Reported by BBC · How we write briefs