A serving prisoner and a Birmingham man locked up for their part in a gun plot in south Bucks deserved every day of their tough sentences, senior judges have ruled.

Reece Denoon, 27, was behind bars at Lindholme Prison, Doncaster, when he helped to arrange the sale of a self-loading pistol and 79 rounds of ammunition in Iver in May 2016.

He and Terrence John, 34, of Tresham Road, Birmingham, later admitted conspiring to transfer a prohibited weapon at Kingston Crown Court.

They were each jailed for 12 years on March 24 last year.

Police watched as David Spour handed over the gun and ammunition to Kadene Williams in return for cash on May 12, 2016, at a meeting in Iver.

Williams was stopped by Metropolitan Police officers on the same day as the left the M6 near Birmingham, who found a handgun along with 79 live rounds of ammunition, a shotgun cartridge and £200 cash in her red Vauxhall Corsa. She was arrested on the spot.

The judge who jailed John and Denoon said they both played a “significant part” in organising the sale.

The fact that Denoon was a serving prisoner was a “serious aggravating feature”, the appeal judge said.

He had been jailed for eight years and four months in July 2015 for possession of a handgun and Class A drugs with intent to supply.

His latest 12-year jail term was ordered to run consecutively to the remainder of the sentence he was already serving.

Lawyers for both men argued today that their jail terms were far too tough and should be reduced.

But Lord Justice Simon said Denoon’s punishment was “fully justified in light of his prominent role in supplying the gun”.

John played a “significant role on the purchasing side” and his jail term also could not be criticised.

Mr Justice Julian Knowles and Sir Roderick Evans agreed that the appeals should be dismissed.

Spour, 32, of Dudley Wharf, Iver, was sentenced to a total of 14 years behind bars.