IN PICTURES: Deadly weapons haul found in lorry by Walsall workers

The weapons included a Glock pistol, an M16 assault rifle and a Remington pump action shot gun and were seized by firearms officers called to Movecorp, in Aldridge.

The depot was put on 'lock down' for 24 hours after the terrifying cache was discovered as police examined what workers had found.

Knives included a 12-inch blade dubbed a 'Toothpick', which is a replica of the one carried by Sylvester Stallone and Jean Claude Van Damme in the movie Expendables 2.

The haul of three guns, four knives and 200 bullets, thought to be of a type banned in most countries, were brought into the UK from Majorca by another transport firm.

The bullets and guns can land anyone caught with them without a certificate five years in prison. They included Winchester and Fiocchi brand hunting ammunition.

In total the items are thought to be worth £10,000.

It was part of a consignment that was being re-loaded onto another vehicle before being shipped from docks to the United States when the ammunition spilled out of a box.

Movecorp managing director James Tennant said: "Some of our guys were unloading a truck shipment from Europe when some bullets fell out of one of the boxes. When we investigated the load a bit more we found a stash of pump action shotguns. Certainly the type of bullets in there are banned in most countries. There was also a haul of knives and a handgun. They were nasty looking things.

"We called Aldridge police and they came out first and had a look then they called in the firearms unit which conducted a thorough search of the consignment to see if there were any other weapons.They sealed off our warehouse for 24 hours after that.

"These guns were more powerful than what the armed officers carry. The shipment came from Majorca was heading across the Atlantic.

"We normally re-load these at our depot and then transport them to the docks to be shipped abroad. Consignments come with paperwork that the customer fills in and they declare whether or not there are any weapons. These were not declared on the custom forms in this instance.

"Fortunately our staff were alert and took appropriate action to prevent them getting on to the streets."

Mr Tennant, 39, said the goods where collected from a customer in Spain and brought into the UK by Southampton based haulier White & Co that then delivered them to Movecorp's depot, in Middlemore Lane West, when the weapons were spotted on September 24 a fortnight before they were discovered.

"The client didn't declare these, and they passed through the border control with no checks on a truck," he said. "We alerted police and when they arrived at our depot, our warehouse was put on lock down for 24 hours. The police said people can get five years in jail just for having some of these types of bullets.

"But this is clearly a failure on UK Border Force and shows how easy it could be to bring guns into this country," Mr Tennant claimed.

Det Insp Darren Crutchley, of West Midlands Police, said: "Officers were called to a haulage company shortly before 3pm - after staff found weapons and ammunition being shipped from Spain to America.

"The items - which were privately owned by an American national - were seized and the matter referred to US customs officials."

Movecorp declined to reveal the name of its Spanish customer. citing customer confidentiality.

In May last year the company was hit with an £18,000 bill in fines and legal fees after driver Mark Robinson found 18 illegal immigrants in the back of his lorry. Mr Robinson who had returned from the Continent when he heard banging noises, had pulled over at services on the M25 in London. Despite bosses saying he called police and the UK Border Force to report the stowaways, the firm was fined £19,500 following the incident.

That was reduced to £7,500 following an appeal, but with the legal costs the firm ended up paying around £18,000.