Gun minder’s £1 pay-back

Jul 4 2008 by Chloe Griffiths, Liverpool Daily Post

A FORMER seaman who made more than £20,000 minding guns and drugs has been ordered to pay back just £1.

“Helpless” drug addict Andrew Tyrer agreed to store firearms and Class A drugs in his bedroom in his parents’ house to feed his own habit.

He was jailed for 11 years in March.

Yesterday, he was back before Liverpool Crown Court for a Proceeds of Crime hearing aimed at stripping him of any ill-gotten gains. Prosecutors ruled Tyrer had benefited from £21,214 through his illegal trade.

But yesterday they accepted he had no assets or cash and stripped him of just a nominal £1.

Judge John Phipps agreed no further money could be retrieved from the 24-year-old.

He had told Tyrer: “Firearms and Class A drugs are a potent mix and the serious consequences of using illegal weapons is quite obvious.”