A cocaine addict was manipulated by gangsters into minding a weapons arsenal at his Huyton flat.
Police went to Alan Mallon's home in Primrose Drive, to arrest him over other matters, on September 18 this year.
He was coming out of the block of flats with another man and when arrested, tried to hand his keys to his companion.
Mallon, 49, told officers he didn't want them to go in his flat, but they seized the keys and searched the property, at around 3pm.
Liverpool Crown Court heard they discovered two guns and ammunition inside an Asda "bag for life" in one bedroom.
It contained a Russian Tokarev self-loading pistol, an Italian Valtro Libera Vendita pistol, and 63 live bullets.
A blue holdall in another bedroom contained an improvised gun, two stuns guns disguised as torches, and a CS gas canister.
There was another bullet in the bag, which could be fired from the homemade gun, a police baton and handcuffs.
Officers discovered a further seven legal shotgun cartridges - the type used for clay pigeon shooting - in the holdall.
They found 1.72g of cocaine, next to 2.64g of white powder, part of a larger stash of around 41g of glucose.
There was also traces of cocaine, amphetamine and cannabis resin on a set of kitchen scales.
Philip Hall, prosecuting, said the Tokarev TT-33, wrapped in a towel, was in very good condition and successfully fired.
He said: "Identifying marks may have been erased, possibly with a welding torch."
The Valtro 8000 pistol - derived from a 9mm blank firer, with a replacement barrel and a box magazine - also worked perfectly.
Mallon's DNA, along with that of at least three others, was found on both guns, including on the triggers and hand grips.
Ten bullets were 9mm PAK blank rounds, converted to live ammunition with plastic removed and metal projectiles inserted.
They could be fired from the Valtro, while 30 rounds were suitable for the Tokarev, and 23 were 9mm Luger bullets.
A fired bullet casing was recovered, which appeared to be the same type as the converted rounds.
The improvised gun was made from a steel bar, with a barrel and a firing pin made up of a spring, pin and pull ring.
This was also successfully fired, however, neither of the stun guns were working.
When interviewed by police, Mallon, who has Bipolar disorder, was accompanied by an appropriate adult.
He said he was holding onto the items for someone, who he wouldn't name for fear of reprisals.
Mallon explained he had them for a "couple of months" and they had "just been sitting there" but he may have moved the guns from one bag to another.
Mr Hall said: "He explained that he had been in and out of hospital a few times and had not been in the right frame of mind to know what was going on."
He said the cocaine was for personal use, he had been addicted to drugs for two years, and mixed them with glucose to make them last.
Five mobile phones were seized, but they didn't show any evidence of drug dealing.
Mr Hall said Mallon was not charged over the drugs, because of the relatively small amounts.
Mallon admitted three counts of possessing a prohibited firearm, one count of possessing ammunition without a certificate, and three counts of possessing prohibited weapons.
He was given a nine-month sentence, suspended for 18 months, for drug driving and possessing a lock knife, in July.
The drug addict, who has 29 previous convictions for 62 offences, admitted being in breach.
His criminal record includes multiple convictions for dishonesty and possessing drugs, and, in 1996, dealing cannabis.
In 1998 he was convicted of possessing prohibited firearms and dealing Class A drugs and jailed for 22 months.
He received a community order for possessing an offensive weapon in 2006, but since 2007 had kept out of trouble.
Defence lawyers said Mallon didn't want to appear in court because he was "anxious" and he preferred to stand.
He paced up and down throughout the hearing and at one point left the dock altogether, walking into a sideroom.
Julian Nutter, defending Mallon, said he was "very much at sea and in a desperate place".
He said: "This is somebody who has got serious personal problems and you can see them.
"In my respectful submission therefore there is just room to show a bit of humanity to reflect that."
Judge David Aubrey, QC, said it was clear Mallon suffered from multiple issues, including Bipolar disorder and depression.
The judge said he was "a very anxious man" whose home was used as a "safe house".
He said: "What you were doing was facilitating the potential use of lethal firearms in the community and thereby perpetuating in truth gun and gang culture."
However, he said: "This court has no doubt whatsoever that you were being used by others far more sophisticated than you, far more professional than you, far more steeped in gun culture than you.
"This court has no doubt that in consequence of your issues, you were being manipulated by others."
The judge jailed Mallon, who was subject to a minimum five-year sentence, for six and a half years.
