Man charged over arms find

Police probing a major loyalist paramilitary weapons dump in Northern Ireland tonight charged a man with possessing guns and explosives.

The 39-year-old accused is due to appear at Laganside Magistrates Court in Belfast tomorrow.

Ten guns, two pipe bombs, a booby-trap device and hundreds of rounds of ammunition were found in two holdalls in the loft of a house in the staunchly loyalist Rathcoole estate on the northern outskirts of the city yesterday.

Detectives believe the weapons belonged to the Ulster Defence Association, Northern Ireland’s largest loyalist terror organisation.

Earlier today police chiefs confirmed the find was part of a major offensive against loyalist paramilitaries.

Tests are due to be carried out on the guns to see if they were used in previous sectarian killings.