A former Army sergeant who made guns for gangs operating in Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham faces a long jail sentence when he is sentenced in November.

Paul Alexander, born Paul Daintry in Bury in 1955, was tracked down following an operation in the wake of the shooting of Rhys Jones, 11, in Liverpool.

Police said they found a “gun factory” at Alexander’s rented house in Essex — and his weaponry had been linked to 28 firearms crimes in the UK.

Chelmsford Crown Court heard Alexander admitted possessing firearms and ammunition with intent to endanger life, converting imitation firearms into real firearms, buying and selling prohibited ammunition and money laundering.