Kingston police officers have fired Tasers eight times in the last two and a half years, the force has revealed.

The electrical weapon delivers a shock of 50,000 volts to its target and is designed to incapacitate.

Ten deaths in England and Wales have been linked to the stun guns over the last decade.

The force said the weapons had been deployed 122 times since July 2012.

It said on Twitter: "Taser has only been activated 8 times at Kingston and has proven to be an effective tool for our officers.

"Normally we deploy four officers per shift with a Taser X26. They are on one of our emergency response teams dealing with 999 calls.

"We have deployed Taser at Kingston since July 2012. All officers are experienced and trained to national standard by our firearms unit."

Former home secretary David Blunkett, who oversaw the introduction of Tasers, this week called for their use to be reviewed after freedom of information releases showed they were used on more than 400 children in 2013.

The youngest was 14. An 11-year-old had a stun gun aimed at him.

Commander Neil Basu, from the Association of Chief Constables, told the BBC: "We have to remember that children can commit violent crime too.

"If that 14-year-old is committing a violent act towards a member of the public or to an officer, or if they are self-harming, then our job is to make sure that that stops in the safest way possible."

THE STATS

  • Taser drawn: 38 times
  • Aimed: 26 times
  • Laser targetted: 50 times
  • Fired: Eight times