A Wild West fanatic has been charged with illegally possessing a rifle believed to have been used by British officers fighting the Zulus during the 1870s.

Allen Ambridge, 48, a member of the British Westerners Association and the Arizona Outlaws display team, has appeared in wild west shows at Oxenhope's Manorlands garden party, Keighley Gala and Silsden carnival.

He had counted the Winch-ester '73 .44 calibre rifle - made in Connecticut in the USA in 1875 - as one of his most prized possessions. But he appeared at Bingley magistrates' court accused of possessing it without a proper firearms licence.

Reporting restrictions were lifted after his solicitor Keith Blackwell said the case could have implications for every historic battle re-enactment group in Britain. He also asked for firearms experts to come forward to help the prosecution and the defence.

"This item was made in 1875, the year before Custer's Last Stand," Mr Blackwell told the court. "But Custer did not issue it to his men, which may account for his defeat in the battle. If he had used it Sitting Bull would have run from the battlefield very quickly.

"There is evidence this item was recovered from the battlefield of Isandlwhana in 1879 (during the Zulu wars in South Africa) at a time when British officers were allowed to possess their own weapons. Since then it has passed through a number of private hands."

Mr Blackwell said his client would argue that the rifle could no longer be used as a weapon.

The Winchester '73, often a key prop for Western actors like John Wayne, was manufactured from 1873 to 1923. The rifle at the centre of the allegation is one of the first 9,000 to be produced.

Magistrates granted Ambr-idge, of Primrose Bank, Gilst-ead, Bingley, unconditional bail until a date next month.

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