Hull grandfather caught by police with 'powerful' Taser disguised as a torch

Police caught a grandfather with a potentially highly dangerous Taser weapon that was skilfully disguised as a seemingly innocuous large black torch.

Officers were tipped off about the Taser and stopped Anthony Green while he was in a car. They discovered that the disguised Taser was actually "one of the more powerful and dangerous models" and it could have caused serious problems, Hull Crown Court heard.

Green, 56, of Owthorne Grove, east Hull, admitted possessing a disguised firearm and possessing cannabis on July 7 last year.

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Harry Bradford, prosecuting, said that police were in Ryehill Grove, east Hull, at about 3pm when they spotted a Ford Focus car and stopped it because they believed that the driver might have a disguised Taser in his possession.

Green told police: "I have got a Taser in the door. It's in the driver's side pocket. It looks like a torch."

Police found a large black torch that was disguised as a Taser, with an on-off switch. An officer realised that it was "one of the more powerful and dangerous models" and Green claimed that he bought it a couple of days earlier at a car boot sale thinking that it was a torch.

Cannabis, valued at £50, was found in the glove box. During police interview, Green made full and frank admissions. He said that he bought it without knowing that it was a Taser and never intended to use it but he knew that, once he did know this, he should not have kept it. The cannabis was for his personal use.

Green had convictions for 30 previous offences, most recently in September 2012. He had convictions for two weapons offences in 1983 and 1984.

Cathy Kioko-Gilligan, mitigating, said that the torch had to be charged up before it could be used. Green knew that, by keeping the torch, he had made a serious mistake and he was shocked at the situation.

"He didn't realise the consequences of what he was doing and that he was facing a serious offence," said Miss Kioko-Gilligan. Green was a grandfather and a carer and he had kept out of trouble since 2012.

Deputy circuit judge Roger Thomas KC said that police stopped Green while he was in the car. "They had clearly heard something about the fact that you had in that car a Taser," he said.

"Where they heard that from, I don't know. The evidence doesn't tell me. You had this thing a couple of days or maybe a couple of weeks before this incident. It was a disguised item. It was a torch, on the face of it, but it was a Taser.

"You bought it as a torch for a few pounds, not realising that it was a Taser. During the few days or couple of weeks that you had it, you realised that it was a Taser. You had to charge it. You kept it.

"You may well not have appreciated the seriousness of being in possession of such a thing. I accept that. You're not the first person to be caught in possession of a disguised firearm.

"It wasn't intended for criminal purposes. There doesn't seem to have been any risk of it falling into the wrong criminal hands."

Green was given a two-year suspended prison sentence and he was fined £100.