Loyalists last night denied any link with a stash of more than 70 weapons discovered at a house where a former paramilitary shot himself.

Thousands of bullets were also discovered at the north Belfast home of Billy "Black Neck" Bell, who had been battling cancer.

Former PUP MLA Billy Hutchinson denied the discovery had any connection with the UVF, which has pledged to put guns beyond reach.

"These guns are categorically not linked to the UVF," he said. He isn't a member of the UVF. This man ran a combat company."

However, security sources have tied Bell to the UVF. His funeral was held from his Ballysillan Drive terraced home yesterday.

Bell, aged in his 50s, was a weapons expert who could turn replica guns into firing weapons. It is believed he was also involved in a paintballing operation.

A statement by police said: "A substantial amount of guns and ammunition were discovered as part of an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the sudden death of a man in the north of the city at the weekend.

“During a follow-up search of the man’s house, more than 70 suspected guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition were discovered. All have been removed for forensic examination.

“A further small number of suspected firearms were also found in lock-up premises in the greater Belfast area."

Those ballistic tests will determine whether the weapons have been used in paramilitary attacks.

In May last year, the UVF effectively declared an end to its campaign of violence by announcing the organisation was adopting a non-military and civilian role.

Recruitment, military training and targeting had ceased, intelligence rendered obsolete and all guns "put beyond reach".

A blue-and-white floral tribute saying "Granda" and “Dad” was in the garden of the house, but reporters were threatened away from the area.

Sinn Fein Assembly member Gerry Kelly said: "These guns, which belonged to an organisation that was responsible for countless sectarian killings in north Belfast and further afield, have now been taken off the streets.

“The obvious question that nationalists across north Belfast will be asking is what the UVF were doing with 70 guns and a large amount of ammunition in the city anyway, 14 years after the UVF declared a ceasefire.

"If anything, this find reinforces the fact that continued pressure, especially from the British Government and the unionist parties, needs to be brought to bear on loyalist paramilitaries."