No jail for gun granny

A great grandmother who was caught with two handguns in her bag at Dublin Airport last year has today escaped a jail term.

Elizabeth Griffin (aged 69) of Mellowes Road, Finglas West, Dublin bought the guns for protection after attacks on her family by well-known criminals.

She also had six bullets in the bag and three shotgun cartridges - and a balaclava in her home.

When airport security spotted the weapons on an x-ray machine they assumed it was a test because of Griffin’s age.

In sentencing today, Judge Tony Hunt said "you sometimes reach a point where you feel you've seen everything - then something like this comes along to surprise you".

He imposed a one-year sentence, suspended in full for one year.