Asylum seeker 'had loaded pistol and silencer yards from Tony Blair's home'

An Albanian asylum seeker was caught driving yards from Tony Blair's London home with a loaded gun and silencer, a court heard.

Vladimir Kendella, 56, was spotted by officers in December last year after "shooting across a junction" in front of a marked police car and speeding off.

He was later arrested standing by his car in Connaught Street, Bayswater — but had disposed of the pistol, which contained seven rounds of ammunition, Southwark crown court heard.

However, dog-walker William Salisbury spotted the gun lying in the road, jurors heard. Mr Salisbury told jurors: "My first thought was that it was possibly a toy gun. I bent down to pick it up.

"I held it between my thumb and forefinger and when I lifted it about two inches I realised by the weight of it that it was a real gun."

He put the gun in a plastic bag, took it round the corner to Ashley Close and handed it to officers on duty outside Mr Blair's house.

Police then found a silencer under the driver's seat of Kendella's white Seat Ibiza, the court heard, and three rounds of ammunition were found at his Wembley home the following day.

Prosecutor Ian Paton said: "This case started with some dubious driving by Mr Kendella and it finished with one man and his dog."

Kendella denies possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life, possessing a silencer with intent to danger life and possessing ammunition with intent to danger life.

He also denies possessing ammunition without a firearms certificate.

The trial continues.