A GANGSTER was last night branded "a very dangerous man" by a judge when he was jailed for nine-and-a-half years for having a gun and ammunition in his car.

Domenyk Lattlay-Fottfoy, a member of the Noonans gangland family, was stopped in a Jaguar car by police near Darlington in May and found with a handgun and five .357 Magnum bullets.

A jury at Teesside Crown Court found the 41-year-old guilty of possession of a firearm, possessing a firearm without a certificate and having a firearm and ammunition in his possession.

Lattlay-Fottfoy, who ran a security business, is the brother of murdered Manchester hardman Desmond Noonan, who was stabbed to death earlier this year.

Both brothers had appeared in a controversial television documentary about the Manchester criminal underworld in which Desmond hinted he was responsible for 27 murders.

Armed police have been guarding court room 11, where Lattlay-Fottfoy was on trial, because of the family's gangland reputation.

Judge Michael Taylor said: "You must be classed as a very dangerous man who is clearly a risk to the public."

The court heard that Lattlay-Fottfoy, who changed his name from Noonan, had a series of previous convictions, including for firearms offences and robbery.

Patrick Roach, in mitigation, said the recent offences had occurred about the time his brother was murdered. He said: "It is a matter that has affected my client deeply."

Lattlay-Fottfoy, of Manchester, said a Darlington man had planted the gun and ammunition in his car.

Aaron Berry, 20, and Adam Walsh, 18, both of Manchester, previously pleaded guilty to the offences and are waiting to be sentenced.

* Lattlay-Fottfoy's son, Desmond Noonan, is serving two-and-a-half-years in jail after he took part in a riot at Deerbolt Young offender's Institution, in Barnard Castle, County Durham.