A couple caught with a loaded automatic handgun in their Bradford pub have walked out of court with a £400 fine.

But the sentence drew criticism from a police organisation which described it as "extremely lenient".

Bradford Magistrates heard yesterday that officers found the Bruni self-loading automatic pistol under a mattress when they searched the Old Kings Head pub in Hill Top Lane, Allerton, three months ago.

Licensees Christopher Craven, 53, and his wife Diane, 38, told officers they kept the handgun for protection and admitted possessing a prohibited weapon and ammunition.

Each received a £200 fine and they were ordered to pay £40 costs.

Chris Turton, chairman of the West Yorkshire Police Federation - which represents rank-and-file officers - said: "This certainly seems like an extremely lenient sentence."

Last month the force held a countywide firearms amnesty in which people could hand over weapons without fear of being prosecuted.

The campaign, aimed at making the streets safer, came before the proposed introduction of tough new laws which will see anyone carrying illegal firearms sentenced to a minimum five-year jail sentence.

Responding to the couple's argument that the gun was kept for self-defence, Mr Turton said: "The same point was used by the Norfolk farmer Tony Martin who has just lost his appeal hearing in court."

Martin was jailed for five years after shooting dead a teenage burglar in 1999. This week he lost his fight for an early release from jail.

"The simple fact is that you cannot have illegal firearms in your premises to protect yourself against potential burglars," said Mr Turton.

He said the majority of West Yorkshire gun crime involved drug dealers attacking rivals and violent criminals carrying out armed robberies.

The court heard that on one occasion Craven had taken the gun on to the landing when he heard intruders.

Ray Singh, mitigating, said the offences were part of a "never-ending nightmare" for the couple. The gun was never used and Craven believed it was an imitation at the time, he said.