Judges have given permission for a man jailed for firearms offences to appeal his five-year sentence.

Stephen Robert Williamson, 43, of Station Road, Penrith, was caught with illegal expanding bullets, as well as working parts of a military self-loading rifle and other ammunition.

He was sentenced at Carlisle Crown Court in April, having admitted possession of prohibited ammunition, of a firearm and of ammunition without a certificate.

But his sentence will now be reviewed by the Court of Appeal, in London, after top judges said some of the evidence deserves further investigation.

Officers went to Williamson's home in June last year and discovered the gun parts and ammunition, which were stored in the same place as his legally-owned firearms.

He had the bolt assembly and trigger from an ‘SLR’ military self-loading rifle, along with 131 rounds of banned expanding 9mm bullets.

Officers also found 71 rounds of 9mm ammunition and two rounds of .38 special ammunition without a certificate.

Firearms possession offences normally carry an automatic minimum five-year sentence, and the sentencing judge found there were no "exceptional circumstances" to justify a lower jail term for Williamson.

However, his lawyers dispute this, saying there were circumstances which would have allowed the judge to reduce the sentence.

Giving permission for a full appeal, Judge Peter Rook QC said the matter should be explored further at a later hearing, for which no date was set.

Sitting with Sir Brian Leveson and Mr Justice Holgate, he added: "We do not wish to unduly raise Williamson's expectations.

"However, we do feel this issue needs to be considered and resolved, given its potential relevance as to whether there may have been exceptional circumstances."