Nazi-obsessed weapons hoarder pleads guilty to terror offences
Paul Page admitted possessing explosives manuals, illegal firearms, and over 600 weapons at his Cambridge home
A weapons-obsessed man with a fascination for Nazi Germany has pleaded guilty to terrorism-related offences.
Paul Page, 52, of Littleport, Cambridgeshire, was found to have collected more than 600 weapons including landmines, grenades, rifles and ammunition, police said.
The Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU) said Page also had explosive substances and guides and manuals on how to produce explosives and manufacture firearms.
In 2023, Cambridgeshire Police officers had been investigating reports that Page had downloaded child abuse images.
During a search of his home they discovered Nazi flags, Second World War weapons and chemicals.
The unrelated child abuse investigation by Cambridgeshire Police uncovered more than 250 illegal images on Page's devices.
In August 2023, he was jailed for 20 months after admitting three charges of making indecent images of children.
A separate further investigation was then led by ERSOU into items recovered from an outbuilding at Page's address.
Detectives from ERSOU's Counter Terrorism Policing unit established Page had collected more than 600 weapons and other militaria linked to Nazi activity during the war.
Police said although much of this was legal memorabilia, he was in possession of prohibited items including landmines, grenades, rifles and ammunition.
A book was seized containing instructions on how to produce a sub-machine gun, and component parts of firearms, bullet casings and shells were recovered.
There were also several chemicals that - if combined - were precursor materials useful for the manufacture of explosives.
Page had also downloaded a banned document containing instructions to make viable explosives.
ERSOU said that throughout police interviews Page denied holding an extreme right-wing mindset, despite having an email address which referenced numbers associated with Adolf Hitler and a tattoo linked to white supremacy.
He pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey on Monday to a series of offences including two counts of possessing a document or record likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, ERSOU said.
Page also admitted two counts of possessing an explosive substance, 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.
Hannah Wilkinson, head of ERSOU, said: "Throughout our investigation, it was clear that Page had a fascination with Nazi Germany and World War Two, the clearest indication being the flags draped in his outbuilding.
"Of real concern to us was the combination of dangerous chemicals, the banned documents on how to create firearms and explosives, and Page's clear obsession with weapons.
"Working closely with force colleagues in Cambridgeshire, our teams seized a significant amount of physical and digital materials which were examined by experts and identified to be a severe risk.
"Our specialist teams are dedicated to tackling the threat of terrorism in the eastern region, and I'm thankful for all their work throughout this investigation."
Page was remanded in custody and is due to be sentenced at the Old Bailey on May 1.