A suspect has been named after a suspected gun was found in a woodland.
Merseyside Police recovered the suspected firearm from a patch of woodland in Rice Lane Recreation Park. A spokesperson for the force told the ECHO two men were spotted "acting suspiciously" at around 9pm on Wednesday, April 19.
The two men appeared to discard a number of items, leading officers to find a suspected gun next to a tree. The weapon has been forensically recovered to establish if it is a viable weapon.
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There was a considerable police presence in the park on Thursday. A section of the park was cordoned off and forensic officers were seen removing bags of evidence from the area of woodland.
Police said a man was arrested and a suspect has now been charged. Scott Howard, 32, of Goodacre Road, Fazakerley, has been charged with two counts of possession of a firearm, possession of ammunition and possession of a Class B drug.
He appeared at Wirral Magistrates' Court today and has been remanded in custody to appear at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday, May 19.
Merseyside Police Detective Sergeant Claire Astbury said on Thursday: "Our streets are made safer with every weapon we take out of circulation and every arrest we make in relation to firearms. I am delighted that we were able to recover this weapon and prevent it from causing fear and harm in our communities.
"We are committed to taking weapons off our streets and, rest assured, if you tell us about any suspected possession or offences we will take action and put those responsible before the courts. Merseyside Police pro-actively investigates serious organised crime including the use of guns and the supply and distribution of drugs on Merseyside and is relentless in its pursuit of offenders.
"We will always take immediate action to incidents involving guns and we are actively working to make Merseyside a safer place to live and work. Information from the public is vital if we are to breakdown the organised crime groups who bring misery to our streets.
"It is vital that members of our communities come forward with information so we can make our communities safer for the decent, law abiding people who live in areas affected by gun crime."
If you have any information about the suspected storage, possession and use of firearms and ammunition, please contact us directly via @MerPolCC on Twitter, 'Merseyside Police Contact Centre' on Facebook, by calling 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or report online at https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/forms/give-information-anonymously. Always call 999 if a crime is in progress.
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