A former soldier bought deactivated guns on the internet and restored them into lethal weapons.

The High Court in Glasgow heard Andrew Steven, also known as Walton, was the criminal fraternity's "go-to" man for illegal weapons.

Steven, 53, was said to be running a "cottage industry" from a workshop in his Ayr home.

When police searched the premises in 2015 they uncovered a cache of guns and ammunition including a Colt M16 assault rifle capable of firing 600 rounds a minute.

Other weapons reactivated by Steven between 1992 and 2015 included a Sten sub-machine gun, a Walther TPH pistol, a Sig Sauer pistol, a Taurus five-shot revolver and a rifle.

The court heard one of the guns reactivated by Steven, a Colt King Cobra revolver, was found near a murder scene in Scapa Street, Glasgow in 1993.

Other guns were uncovered during police drugs raids around the west of Scotland.

The court heard Steven was caught after undercover police witnessed weapons being handed over.

Three other accused, Dean Kimmins, 32, Kenneth McMullen, 27, and Michael Stuart, 35, were also convicted for their involvement in the criminal enterprise.

Prosecutor Richard Goddard said: "Andrew Steven was the general reactivator and distributor, the gun dealer, Dean Kimmins was the customer sourcing guns, Michael Stuart the organiser and Kenneth McMullan the courier."

McMullan was caught red-handed in Argyle Street, Glasgow on February 4, 2015, while in possession of a Smith and Wesson snub-nosed revolver.

Mr Goddard told the court: "This case has involved the reactivity on and distribution of reactivated weapons and ammunition into the public domain, without any care about whose hands these weapons ended up in.

"Andrew Steven over a number of years set himself up as a reactivator of deactivated guns and a supplier.

"He was a distributor, someone who passed guns to others. He was running a cottage industry from his flat in Ayr.

"This was an active supplier of guns, someone people went to for guns."

The trial was told after Kimmins received the gun from Steven he handed it over to William Paton, a convicted criminal currently serving a five-year sentence for possessing a gun.

Mr Goddard added: "People don't manufacture and supply guns to other people for charity, you can infer this was a crime done for financial gain. They weren't being given away."

The Crown said Kimmins went to Steven to source guns and had been introduced to him by Stuart.

In evidence Kimmins denied having any involvement with guns, but Mr Goddard pointed to evidence of a telephone call from February 2012 in which Stuart detailed his involvement in the illegal transaction.

Judge Sean Murphy deferred sentence on all four accused until November 3 and remanded them in custody.