CHRIS BISHOP A Tasar stun gun was used for the first time by police in Norfolk last night to disarm a 21-year-old man threatening passers-by with a samurai sword.

CHRIS BISHOP

A tasar stun gun was used for the first time by police in Norfolk last night to disarm a 21-year-old man threatening passers-by with a samurai sword.

Armed officers were sent to Hillington Square, in King's Lynn, just after 6pm on Thursday, after reports a man was brandishing a sword and making threats to kill.

They found the man on a public walk-way balcony at Vicarage House and tried to speak to him.

But he became aggressive and a struggle ensued in which the tasar, which fires two barbed prongs which deliver a powerful electric shock, was used.

The man was arrested on suspicion of making threats to kill and was still in custody this morning.

Superintendent Bernie Cartwright, of Norfolk police, said: "We acknowledge that any use of force by a firearms officer can be a frightening experience for any bystanders present. However it is only used when absolutely necessary and proportionate to do so.

"In this case, the tasar was discharged in accordance with the circumstances the officers were faced with and was the appropriate level of force to bring the incident to conclusion without compromising the safety the members of public present, and of the officers and the individual concerned."

Norfolk firearms officers were issued with tasars last year. The incident in Lynn is the first time in which the devices have been used in anger.