Huge arsenal of guns and ammo found - hidden behind false wall day after Dunblane massacre

More than 30 shotguns and pistols were found wrapped in newspaper dated March 14 1996

A builder renovating a house has discovered a huge arsenal of guns and ammunition that were hidden behind a false wall the day after the Dunblane massacre.

More than 30 shotguns and pistols, along with hundreds of rounds of ammunition, were discovered in a semi-detached house in the quiet village of Dinas Powys in south Wales.

The guns were wrapped in newspaper dated March 14 1996, the day after the Dunblane primary school massacre in which sixteen children and a teacher lost their lives.

Simon Berni, the builder who discovered the haul, said: “It was an incredible arsenal - full, absolutely choc-a-bloc with eight shelves of fire arms and ammunition”.

The 41-year-old says he was working at his uncle’s house when he stumbled upon weapons including a pistol from the 1930s and a pump action shotgun hidden behind a false wall.

Mr Berni said: “I was shocked because there weren't any bricks in the wall but a lot of shotgun barrels and hand guns…They obviously belonged to somebody who knew what they were doing as they were all greased and beautifully wrapped up in newspaper.”

Police are investigating the gun stash, but believe it’s likely the property’s previous owner simply hadn’t registered them and hid the weapons to avoid losing them in a government crackdown on guns in the wake of Dunblane.

18 people, including the perpetrator Thomas Hamilton, died in the Dunblane massacre.

The 43-year-old entered Dunblane Primary School carrying four handguns on 13 March 1996, shooting and killing sixteen children and one adult before committing suicide.

The massacre remains one of the deadliest criminal acts involving firearms in UK history, and led to the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 and the Firearms (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1997, which effectively made private ownership of handguns illegal in the United Kingdom.