A grandmother who was jailed for five years for keeping a "war trophy" gun found among her late Royal Navy veteran father's belongings split appeal judges on Friday over the sentence imposed on her.

Gail Cochrane, 53, took the pistol for "sentimental value" - and kept the prohibited weapon for 29 years after the death of her father John before police found it during a search of her home while looking for her son.

She was later sentenced to five years imprisonment - the minimum term laid down by Parliament unless exceptional circumstances can be shown - in June this year at the High Court in Edinburgh after admitting illegal possession of the firearm.

The judge, Lady Smith, said she was unable to find herself satisfied that it was one of the rare cases where such circumstances existed and said she had no alternative but to impose the sentence.

The grandmother-of-six served about six weeks in jail before being freed on bail on July 29 pending a challenge against the sentence being heard by appeal judges.

Her solicitor advocate Iain Paterson argued that in the circumstances of Cochrane's case the sentencing judge had erred over the issue of exceptional circumstances and other disposals could be considered, including community service and admonition.

Prison

Lord Clarke, who heard the appeal with Lord Hardie, pointed out that Cochrane had never been jailed before but was then confronted with a five-year prison sentence.

But Lord Hardie said: "The use of guns is becoming more and more prevalent in Scotland. We are seeing more and more crimes involving the use of guns, including murders. Guns seem to be becoming the weapon of choice of organised criminals."

He said that if such weapons were kept in homes the danger was that they could fall into the hands of criminals following a break-in.

Lord Clarke said the two judges at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh could not reach agreement on Cochrane's case and it would have to be referred to a bench of three judges at a later date.

Mr Paterson argued that exceptional circumstances were made out in Cochrane's case which meant the five-year minimum prison term did not have to apply.

Unlawful

He said the weapon had "innocently come into her possession" and added: "It has been in her possession without being unlawfully used for almost three decades."

Mr Paterson argued that having the gun in that way for such a lengthy period of time amounted to an exceptional circumstance.

He added: "There was no ammunition with this particular weapon or evidence that it had been discharged. She was aware it was a real weapon because as far as she was concerned it was a war trophy."

The gun was found at Cochrane's home in Morgan Street, Dundee, on June 17 last year after police arrived looking for her son after he failed to attend a justice of the peace court.

Cochrane let the officers in and during a search the World War II weapon was found under a mattress in her bedroom. It was in poor external condition but was found to be capable of firing. She told police it had belonged to her father and she kept it following his death.

The family heirloom weapon was a semi-automatic pistol made about 1941 in German-occupied Czechoslovakia for the German military.

Cochrane's bail was continued ahead of a further hearing in her appeal.