TWO police officers have received formal warnings after firearms were stolen from an armed response vehicle.
A Sig 9mm pistol with 12 rounds of ammunition, a Taser stun gun and three baton rounds were stolen from the Cleveland Police vehicle in August last year.
They were recovered the next day.
Lee Solan, 24, of Chelmsford Walk, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to offences of theft and possession of a firearm and was jailed for 30 months.
He had been arrested in Crescent Walk, Middlesbrough, on suspicion of riding a motorbike with excess alcohol.
A breath test at a police station proved negative. As a result, he was being taken back to collect his bike, and stole the weapons as he left the vehicle. They had been left in a box in the rear of the car.
The incident was voluntarily referred by the police force to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, which oversaw the force's investigation.
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