TWO Ipswich men face jail sentences after admitting to gun and drug-dealing charges.Ian Palfrey and Mark Farrall pleaded guilty at Knutsford Crown Court following their arrest by police after the Subaru they were driving was damaged in a freak crash in Cheshire.

TWO Ipswich men face jail sentences after admitting to gun and drug-dealing charges.

Ian Palfrey and Mark Farrall pleaded guilty at Knutsford Crown Court following their arrest by police after the Subaru they were driving was damaged in a freak crash in Cheshire.

The pair admitted possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and possession of cannabis with intent to supply.

The cannabis was said to have had a street value of between £20,000-£30,000.

Palfrey, 23, and Farrall, 39, whose addresses were given as Defoe Road, were caught by police when their Subaru was hit by a lorry which had careered out of control.

The accident happened on the M6 northbound between junctions 16 and 17, near Crewe, on Monday, September 8, last year.

An articulated lorry travelling south jack-knifed, crossed the central reservation and came to rest on an embankment.

Three other vehicles including the one containing Palfrey and Farrall were damaged in the crash.

Several people, including the pair from Ipswich, sustained minor injuries and were taken to Leighton Hospital for treatment.

A spokesman for Cheshire police said when officers checked the Subaru Palfrey and Farrall – who is also known as Mark Mann – were in after recovering it from the motorway, they discovered a stash of cannabis. They also found a firearm, together with a quantity of cash.

After being treated in hospital, the pair were taken to separate police stations in Northwich and Crewe, where they were charged with both the offences which they admitted in court.

They made their first appearance at South Cheshire Magistrates Court in Crewe on September 10 last year, before appearing at Chester Crown Court six days later.

Palfrey and Farrall, who is originally believed to be from the Manchester area, were remanded in custody throughout the past 12 months awaiting trial.

Following their guilty pleas before Recorder Ian Murphy QC at Knutsford Crown Court they will now remain in custody until their sentencings.

The sentencings are scheduled to take place at Chester Crown Court on Friday, October 8.