The stun guns can give people electric shocks through metal barbs fired at up to 50,000 volts, potentially triggering heart conditions in the young.

However, figures show their usage against under-18s has risen by almost seven-fold over the last few years.

According to the Home Office statistics, officers threatened children with Tasers on 144 occasions in 2010 – compared with 21 times in 2007.

They actually fired the weapons during one in five incidents, though on most occasions the youngsters were just targeted with a red laser dot from the gun.

Amnesty International, the human rights group, called for the use of Tasers on children and vulnerable people to be “avoided in all circumstances”, over fears they can trigger health problems.

However, Lord Taylor of Holbeach, a Home Office minister, said the guns are only used in violent situations, as he revealed the new figures to Baroness Stern, a crossbench peer, in answer to a question in the House of Lords.

“Taser is only deployed where there is a serious threat of violence and by officers who have been carefully selected and trained in its use,” he said.

Police have access to around 12,000 Tasers but there were calls for their use to be greatly extended as officers struggled to cope during the riots of 2011.

Paul Davis, responsible for firearms policy on the Police Federation, said that “most if not all frontline officers” should be given access to Tasers, which he described as “less lethal” devices.
 

Telegraph story
 

In other news, the Police Federation, the staff association for the unfortunate police officers who get threatened with weapons and unprovoked violence on a daily basis, confirmed that the use of Tasers on children and vulnerable people most certainly is “avoided in all circumstances whenever humanly possible”, over fears that being stabbed, shot, or beaten unconscious can trigger health problems in its members, with such victims subsequently inevitably being sacked for being less than 100% fit for operational duty. But see the latest incredibly brave (and somewhat foolhardy, given the foregoing) arrest by a Met officer of a heavily-armed youth who had just attempted to murder an Italian woman in a North London street.