David Huber who threw shotgun cartridges through gates of Buckingham Palace is sentenced

A man who threw shotgun cartridges at Buckingham Palace days before the King's Coronation had picked them up while working on a pheasant shoot with Prince William and Kate, a court has been told.

David Huber, 60, was detained on the evening of Tuesday, 2 May last year after he approached a main north centre pedestrian gate at the Royal residence and hurled two shotgun cartridges through the railings.

That was just four days before the coronation of King Charles III, who was not inside the palace at the time.

Cordons were put in place after Huber, of Bank Gate Farm, North Stainmore, Cumbria, was also found to be in possession of a bag which aroused suspicions.

Specialists attended and, after an assessment, a controlled explosion of the bag was conducted as a precaution.

Carlisle Crown Court was told today how the cartridges bore the crest of the Sandringham Estate, a residence owned by the Royal Family.

It was during his time operating as a beater on a pheasant shoot with Prince William and Kate that he collected the cartridges.

The court was also told how the cartridges were live rounds but were thrown to alert the attention of Kate and William, with whom he wanted to raise his civil dispute with his business partner.

"I adore the Royal Family and would take a bullet for them," Huber told police during interviews.

Sentencing Huber today, the judge said: "It is my opinion that you are better treated in the community than in custody."

Huber was sentenced to a two-year community order which included 12 months of mental health treatment.

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