Yorkshire motorhome company director goes on trial accused of keeping tear gas at his farmhouse
Paul Simon Frankland, 57, is on trial at York Crown Court after pleading not guilty to two counts of possessing a prohibited weapon.
North Yorkshire Police found two canisters of a substance later identified as CS gas during a search of his six-acre farm in Brompton-on-Swale, near Richmond, in December 2020.
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Hide AdOne canister was inside a shoe cupboard beneath the stairs of the 19-room farmhouse, while another was kept ‘in plain sight’ in a wardrobe containing motorcycle leathers.
It is accepted that the canisters had not beeen deployed ‘nefariously’ to cause harm or distress and did not appear to have been used.
‘Tear’ gas is so named because it causes irritation to the eyes and nasal passages. It is authorised for use in extreme situations involving public unrest by law enforcement agencies in the UK, but it cannot be legally owned by a private individual.
Mr Frankland is the director of Harrogate Motorhomes Ltd and Seekers Motorhomes Ltd and lives at the property with his wife Gill.
The trial continues.