Court martial ponders Danny Nightingale verdict over 'illegal pistol' A court martial board has retired to consider its verdict on an SAS sniper accused of possessing a pistol and more than 300 rounds of ammunition. Sergeant Danny Nightingale, 38, has been on trial at the court martial centre in Bulford, Wiltshire, for the past week accused of possessing a Glock 9mm pistol and 338 rounds of ammunition. The haul was recovered by civilian police in September 2011 in the rented house the father-of-two shared with another SAS soldier, known only as Soldier N. The pistol was found in Sgt Nightingale's wardrobe and the ammunition was under his bed in a plastic box. Sgt Nightingale, of Crewe, Cheshire, has pleaded not guilty to possession of a prohibited firearm between November 26, 2007 and September 16, 2011. He also denies possession on or about September 16, 2011 of ammunition, namely 122 9mm live rounds, 40 7.62mm live rounds, 50 9mm frangible rounds, 50 .338 armour piercing live rounds, two .308 live rounds and 74 5.56mm live rounds. Sgt Nightingale said he had no knowledge of the Glock and ammunition being in his bedroom and said they were put there by someone else. Soldier N was sentenced to a two-year period of military detention last year after admitting possessing a Glock 9mm pistol, which he brought back from Iraq in 2003, and ammunition recovered by police in the rented three bedroom house. The court martial heard that Sgt Nightingale originally told police in 2011 he was given the pistol by an Iraqi national during a tour there in 2007 and brought it back to the UK in his kit. He also said the ammunition was accumulated from training sessions on ranges at his UK base, which he had not returned to the stores. However, Sgt Nightingale now says the confession he made to the police was false because of memory problems caused by a brain injury he suffered during a charity endurance marathon in October 2009, which left him in a coma. Sgt Nightingale maintains he was "confabulating" - meaning he was filling in gaps in his memory based on what other people had told him - but medical experts have disagreed on whether he was confabulating. Judge Advocate General Jeff Blackett spent an hour summing up the evidence and giving directions on the law to the five-person court martial board. He told them: "The prosecution bring the case and the burden of proof is upon them. The defendant does not have to prove anything and he certainly does not have to prove his innocence. If you are not sure the defendant is guilty you must find him not guilty. The judge urged the board to reach unanimous verdicts, although said he under military law he could accept a simple majority. Sgt Nightingale's family, including wife Sally and father Humphrey, were in court to support him.