A golfer who bought an illegal 50,000-volt Taser gun for £20 to deal with a rat infestation in a "comedy of errors" has been convicted of weapons offences. Richard Gilling purchased the stun gun online on the recommendation of a friend, a court heard.
But the 53-year-old never actually used the Taser and left it to gather dust in a wardrobe before leaving it behind at his former home in Lymm, Cheshire. The businessman, who owns The Golf School in Altrincham, was arrested after the new occupants alerted police and his fingerprints were found on its manual.
At Warrington Magistrates' Court, Gilling pleaded guilty to having in his possession a weapon designed or adapted for the discharge of electrified barbs. Chairman Fraser Geke branded it a "comedy of errors" and added: “You could not really have written that could you?”
