TWO Morecambe men accused of selling re-activated machine guns to Irish criminals which were used in crime and for murder appeared in court this week.

Robert Naylor, 48, and James Greenwood, 57, are accused of a string of offences involving fire arms.

The jury in their trial at the Old Bailey in London were shown the deadly weapons and expert David Pryor also demonstrated how the firearms were changed from useless display models to lethal killing machines.

A Ruger single-shot .22 pistol with a modified silencer, a Webley, a Sten machine gun, a deactivated 9mm Sterling and then a re-activated Sterling were shown to the jury.

Many of the weapons including two Uzi 9mms were allegedly converted by the pair in a garden shed in Morecambe.

The court heard how guns were sold to James Moloney, 45, who allegedly passed them to a relative with links to the underworld in the Irish Republic.

Investigations by the police led to the discovery of a homemade bomb with one of the weapons at a garage in Limerick.

Naylor, of Westminster Road, and Greenwood, of Westgate, were members of the local gun clubs and had permission to keep de-activated weapons.

They were exposed after one of their pistols was used for a murder in the Republic of Ireland and recovered by police from the Mulcair River in Annacotty, County Limerick, on December 12, 2002.

The jury was told how Moloney, who married the sister of Naylor's girlfriend, was followed travelling on the Dublin Ferry to England on June 14, 2003.

It is alleged he sent a series of text messages to Naylor including one on July 30 reading: "It's Jimmy. Going away Sunday. Be back following Sunday.

"If furniture landing this weekend, need to know for Friday to have money."

Moloney returned to Limerick and returned to Holyhead on August 10, 2003, to carry out the deal for a Sten Mark II submachine gun and Ruger and Webley handguns.

He then went to a van hire yard in Morecambe run by Benjamin Wilson, 35, who is accused of storing weapons for Moloney.

The court was told how Naylor was arrested later in the afternoon after selling a machine gun and two pistols to Moloney for £4,000 at a layby near the Golden Ball pub, Morecambe, on August 10, 2003.

Moloney then left with the guns in his Mercedes and made two calls to Noel Moloney in the Republic of Ireland.

He later returned to Wilson's yard to hide the guns in a wooden trailer after midnight, the court heard.

Wilson, who lent the money to James Moloney, claims he had no idea what his friend was up to or that he had bought weapons.

Wilson, of Carleton Street, Morecambe, is also accused of three counts of possessing prohibited weapons, a Webley .45, a Ruger and a Sten Mark II on August 10, 2003.

He is further accused of possessing prohibited .22 hollow point ammunition, possessing 14 rounds of .45 ammunition without a certificate and possessing a silencer on the same date.

Naylor and Greenwood are both accused of two counts of manufacturing a Sterling 9mm sub-machine gun between July 1, 2002, and August 11, 2003, and two counts of possessing the guns with intent to endanger life.

They are also accused of possessing a Webley .45mm, a Ruger and a Mark II Sten gun with intent to endanger life on August 10, 2003.

Greenwood is accused of manufacturing a CZ model 9mm self-loading pistol.

Naylor is also accused of seven counts of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life between July 1, 2002, and August 11, 2003.

Moloney, who lives in a mobile home, off Napier Road, Bradford, has pleaded guilty to a series of charges.

Naylor admitted he was involved in dealing, but said prosecutor Mark Ellison: "He denies he possessed any of these weapons with the intention to enable another person to endanger life.

"The mere finding of such weapons and the clear indication they had been reactivated does not begin to prove who had been responsible for doing it.

"But the circumstances in which they were recovered do tend to indicate that there is only one obvious use to which reactivated weapons would be put. Namely endangering life in the course of criminal activity," he added.

Greenwood denies any involvement in reactivation.

The trial continues.