AN OSWESTRY woman, called ‘foolish and fortunate’ by a crown court judge, has been spared serious punishment after admitting her role in a firearm offence.

Georgina Hughes, 24 and of Denmark Cottage in Hengoed, was given a nine-month community order after she admitted assisting an offender by allowing a gun to be stashed in her car.

Recorder Julian Taylor heard at Shrewsbury Crown Court – sitting at Telford Justice Centre – on Thursday, May 16 that Hughes had agreed to allow a pre-1900 revolver to be placed in her car after an unnamed man contacted her via Instagram.

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She had initially faced two charges of possessing a prohibited firearm with ammunition that fitted the revolver but at a hearing in April, she admitted to a third charge of assisting an offender while no evidence was offered for counts one and two.

The court heard that Hughes’s mother called the police when she discovered the package close to the family home in Hengoed in March 2023.

Police recovered the package with ammunition, including a lead bullet in the chamber, and despite its age, it fired and was treated as a viable firearm.

Her defence barrister Thomas Duggan – who agreed that his client had been ‘foolish’ – told Recorder Taylor that when she pleaded guilty in April this year, Judge Peter Barrie indicated her punishment would be a medium-level community order.

Sentencing her, Recorder Taylor said she had ‘skated on the edge of organised crime’ and that she was ‘foolish but fortunate’ that the prosecution had taken the view it had over the role she played.

He added: “You have behaved in a very foolish manner – getting mixed up in firearms takes you to prison for a long time.

“Luckily the prosecution has taken a different view.

“I agree that in these extraordinary circumstances that you can get a community order but if you come here again you will be in trouble.

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“You need to be careful in future because next time you are likely to go to prison.

“Let this be a lesson to you and a warning.”

Hughes was also ordered to pay £500 in costs – a third of what the prosecution requested – carry out 80 hours unpaid work and also 15 rehabilitation days.