A WAITER caught with a gun and a piece of paper with the address of a British soldier has been jailed for six years.

Abu Baker Mansha, aged 21, tracked down the home of Corporal Mark Byles, 34, after reading a newspaper report on his killing of three rebels in Iraq.

Corporal Byles was awarded the Military Cross following the incident, which was reported in a national newspaper.

Former Pizza Hut waiter Mansha, who was seized in a Special Branch swoop in March, had underlined vital passages in the story and on a separate scrap of paper had scrawled a Portsmouth address under the word Hero'.

Police also found a blank-firing pistol which someone had tried to adapt to fire live bullets.

At Southwark Crown Court on December 22, Mansha was convicted under the Terrorism Act 2000 of possessing a document containing information likely to be useful to a person who was committing or preparing an act of terrorism.

Mansha, of Arnott Close, Thamesmead, was sentenced on January 26. He denied the offence claiming he was helping a friend research a story.

Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith said: "When the information including the past address of a soldier came into your possession you crossed the boundary into terrorism. Anyone who crosses the line must know if convicted they will face a substantial custodial sentence."