A former soldier was jailed for three years on Tuesday after admitting explosives and firearms offences connected to the East Belfast Ulster Volunteer Force.

Bryce Pounder, 38, of Parker Street in Belfast, pleaded guilty to possessing explosives and an article for use in terrorism, as well as having a firearm in suspicious circumstances. He was sentenced at Laganside Courts.

Pounder was among four men arrested during a series of police searches in the city in November 2018. The court heard he had built up a £1,800 drug debt and agreed to store weapons after being instructed, saying he acted out of fear.

During the search of his home, officers recovered a plastic box containing a dismantled pipe bomb with explosives, a silencer, a blank-firing pistol painted to resemble a Beretta, and 98 rounds of ammunition. Clothing connected to the UVF was also found.

The judge stated there was no evidence Pounder held any allegiance to a terrorist organisation. The offending, the court found, arose from the situational pressures created by his drug debt and his consequent vulnerability.

No charges of UVF membership or other paramilitary offences were brought against him.