SAS sniper faces sentencing
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Illustration of a British army sniper. A military court is to sentence a special forces sniper who was convicted of unlawfully possessing a pistol and more than 300 rounds of ammunition. (AFP/Illustration)
A military court will on Thursday sentence a special forces sniper who was convicted of unlawfully possessing a pistol and more than 300 rounds of ammunition.
Danny Nightingale, a 38-year-old veteran of the conflicts in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Northern Ireland, was convicted earlier this month following a trial that shone a rare spotlight on the army's elite SAS unit.
It was a second court martial conviction for Danny Nightingale after the first was quashed by the Court of Appeal.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He is due for sentencing at the Military Court Centre in Bulford, Wiltshire.
His original conviction sparked an outcry, with supporters declaring it a betrayal of a war hero who dedicated 17 years to the military. More than 100,000 people signed a petition for his release.
But after a second trial in Wiltshire, the father-of-two was found guilty of two charges of possessing a Glock 9mm and 338 rounds. Gun ownership is severely restricted and possessing handguns is illegal.