A MAN arrested by police after a gun stolen during a £300,000 burglary at a Hampshire home was found in a car he was driving claimed the vehicle belonged to someone else, a court heard.

Christopher Doughty told jurors he had never looked in the boot of the silver Vauxhall Astra police found him in and had therefore never seen the gun before.

Doughty was speaking at Southampton Crown Court where he is standing trial accused of involvement in two aggravated burglaries in Southampton and Hambledon.

Doughty, 54, of Holly Gardens, denies the charges and one of possessing a loaded fire arm in a public place.

The court previously heard how a rifle was found in the Astra's boot when police arrested Doughty in a car park of the A27 Mansbridge Road in Southampton on October 11 of last year.

It was found to be identical to one stolen from a house in Dumbleton Close, Southampton, where £300,000 worth of jewellery and guns were stolen after masked men blindfolded, tied up and threatened an elderly couple with violence.

Doughty told the court how he had borrowed the Astra from his friend Kev Green who works in the motor trade and lent it to him while his ex-wife Marlene was having problems with her vehicle.

He told the court: "Kev Green offered for me to borrow the vehicle so I could sell it on for someone to buy it."

Barrister Matthew Jewell, for Doughty, said: "Did you look in the boot."

Doughty replied: "No I didn't go into the boot once."

The court heard how police had discovered Doughty's fingerprints on a plastic bag containing three number plates found in the vehicle.

Doughty told the court how he had once touched the bag when it "slid out" from under a seat when he was driving.

He told the court he was initially unaware what the number plates were for but has since learned they were replacement plates for another Astra belonging to Mr Green which had damaged plates.

Mr Jewell asked: "Wouldn't you have plates for another vehicle so it would be disguised?"

Doughty replied: "No that wouldn't make sense as both are registered to Kevin Green."

Doughty also started sobbing in the witness box when he explained that he had driven the car from his ex-wife's home in Holly Gardens after having an argument with her that morning and had driven to the car park to "chill out".

Earlier the court heard tests confirmed the rifle contained no trace of DNA but a "partial DNA" found on the gun's trigger could not have belonged to Doughty.

Doughty is also accused of being involved in a burglary in a house in East Street, Hambledon, where a 90-year-old woman and her career were blindfolded, tied up and threatened with violence before jewellery was stolen.

He denies all charges.

Proceeding.