A MAN who ordered a handgun and ammunition from America to be delivered to his Oswestry home has been jailed.

Kieran Prime’s attempt to arm himself was foiled following an international police operation that ended in an armed raid on his flat.

At Birmingham Crown Court 21-year-old Prime was jailed for a total of four years and eight months.

Judge Roderick Henderson also imposed an extended licence period of four years on Prime who he said he considered to be "dangerous"

He rejected a claim that Prime was no longer a risk to the public after considering a letter from the defendant and testimonies from his family.

Judge Henderson said Prime was a "classic conspiracy theorist" and, although the defendant had talked about killing himself, it was significant he had ordered 50 bullets.

Prime, of Oswald Road, had pleaded guilty to attempted possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and possession of ammunition without a certificate.

The court heard that Prime had used the dark web to order a Glock handgun and 50 rounds of ammunition because he said he was "afraid for his life".

Matthew Brook, prosecuting, said a parcel, addressed to A Roberts, was intercepted in New York where special agents discovered the illegal cargo hidden inside an amplifier.

The British authorities were alerted and a trap was set when a replica package was sent to the defendant’s Oswald Road address.

Mr Brook said waiting police marksmen pounced soon after the decoy parcel was delivered on September 6.

Inside the flat officers found a notebook filled with Prime’s delusional beliefs about threats by the state to contaminate the air and water supply with chemicals, and other perceived perils.

Prime wrote about ending his own life ‘before they do’, expressing fears about nuclear warfare, famine and being shot.

Analysis of Prime's iPhone and laptop revealed searches on how to sneak illegal firearms through airport security and the postal system.

Other searches included how to make a gun at home, the location of UK police stations and reports on shooting massacres. There were also selfies of himself holding a firearm.

Officers also found a blank-firing handgun and 65 rounds of blank bullets in the living room.

Mr Brook said that, although not illegal, they were perhaps relevant in the context of the case.

When he was arrested by armed police Prime told them: ‘It’s me you’re looking for’

The court heard he had a previous conviction as a juvenile for threatening another boy with a knife.

Anthony Bell, for Prime, said his client had suffered from high-functioning autism, depression and post traumatic stress disorder and his profound mental health issues were exacerbated by a haphazard attitude to taking his medication and his use of cannabis.

Mr Bell said his client had not been taking his medication at the time of the offence, but had "turned his life around" while on remand and had suggested that he was no longer a danger to the public.