A former soldier has been jailed for six years for keeping more than 600 weapons in a Nazi-themed 'man cave'. 

Convicted paedophile Paul Page, 52, amassed a 'disturbing' collection of rifles, landmines, ammunition and grenades in a shed he described as his 'personal museum'. 

The outbuilding at his property in Littleport, Cambridgeshire, where the arsenal was stockpiled, was draped in Nazi flags.

Officers uncovered the haul in May 2023 while investigating the father-of-two into reports that he had downloaded child abuse images and found more than 250 illegal images on his devices. 

He was jailed for 20 months in August the same year after admitting three charges of making indecent images of children as well as six counts relating to the possession of illegal weapons. 

But a further investigation was then led by the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU) linked to further items recovered from the outbuilding.

Detectives from ERSOU's Counter Terrorism Policing unit established Page had collected other militaria linked to Nazi activity during the war, and chemicals.

While some memorabilia was legal, Page was in possession of prohibited items including landmines, grenades, rifles and ammunition.

A book was seized containing DIY instructions to enable someone with the right materials, skills and equipment to produce a sub-machine gun.

Component parts of firearms, bullet casings and shells were also recovered and Page had also downloaded a banned document containing instructions to make viable explosives.

Footage of Page's arrest shows officers combing through swathes of weaponry and ammunition.

Page denied holding an extreme right-wing mindset throughout police interviews - despite having an email address which referenced numbers associated with Adolf Hitler and a tattoo linked to white supremacy.

He went on to plead guilty at the Old Bailey to two counts of possessing a document or record likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism and two counts of possessing an explosive substance. 

He also pleaded guilty to four counts of possessing a firearm without a certificate, two counts related to the possession of a prohibited firearm, possession of prohibited ammunition, and possession of ammunition without a certificate.

Page was sentenced at the same court yesterday to six years' imprisonment.

Upon his release from prison, Page will be subject to strict safeguarding measures, including a serious crime prevention order lasting five years and a 10-year notification order.

Judge Richard Marks KC told the Old Bailey that Page had described his outbuilding as a 'man cave' and 'personal museum'.

'You clearly have an obsession with weapons and tools,' he said. 

'All of the items were stored in a residential area and, although you said you kept it locked, it is not impossible your children may have had some access.'

He added that Page had addressed his PTSD from his time in the army while in custody. 

Head of ERSOU Hannah Wilkinson said: 'This was not harmless collecting - it was a volatile mix of extremist obsession, weapons and explosive materials.

'Page had surrounded himself with items capable of causing catastrophic harm, alongside instructions on how to turn them into deadly reality.

'Left unchecked, this was a situation that could have ended in tragedy.

'His sentence reflects the very real danger he posed, and removing this haul of dangerous items from his control has undoubtedly protected the public.'