Search teams uncovered four firearms and 85 rounds of ammunition inside the address, all concealed in black bin bags sealed with masking tape.
The haul included a double barrelled sawn-off shotgun, a Llama self-loading pistol, a revolver and a paintball gun which had been converted into a viable automatic weapon, along with 43 live 9mm bullets, 25 shotgun cartridges and a magazine of ammunition.
Macleod, of Sevenacres, in Great Lumley, subsequently admitted a string of firearms offences and last week appeared before Durham Crown Court where he was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment.