Tasers issued to street patrols

Officers in Wakefield and Halifax will carry the Tasers

Electric stun guns are being issued to police officers patrolling the streets in two areas of West Yorkshire.

The Taser guns have previously only been issued to trained firearms teams, but now officers in Wakefield and Halifax are to be given the weapons.

Senior officers said the guns - which hit suspects with a 50,000-volt charge - were part of "a range of options".

The Taser looks like a pistol but uses compressed air to fire two darts that trail a cable back to the handset.

Ch Supt Marc Callaghan, Divisional Commander of Wakefield District Division, said: "They have already been successfully used for some time in West Yorkshire by authorised firearms officers.

Whilst we always try to resolve any situation verbally, this isn't always possible Ch Supt Marc Callaghan

"Now we are extending the issue of them in our district to a small number of specially trained people who are not firearms officers."

"Our primary aim is public safety and whilst we always try to resolve any situation verbally, this isn't always possible.

"A Taser is only deployed after a thorough assessment of the circumstances and after appropriate warnings have been given.

"As with all policing methods this is about using reasonable force in a way that causes least injury. The effects of a Taser are painful but temporary."