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Chinese riot police have been seen training with terrifying giant fork devices aimed at controlling rioters by pinning them to the ground.

It is believed that some of the crowd control devices are capable of emitting electric shocks in a bid to neutralise any perceived threat.

The 8ft poles with U-shaped prongs on the top are being used by both police and armed forces in practice drills as they prepare to enter Hong Kong.

Rising tensions in the area have seen thousands of Hong Kong protesters take over the city's airport.

(Image: REUTERS) (Image: REUTERS) (Image: REUTERS)

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The protesters, who have five demands, even stopped planes arriving or departing for an entire day.

The unrest, now in its 10th week, shows no sign of easing – and there were ugly scenes as riot police clashed with the crowds earlier this week.

In an emotional appeal, Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam begged thousands of anti-government activists ­occupying the airport to leave after flights were seriously disrupted for a second day.

Hundreds of members of China's paramilitary forces conducted exercises at a sports stadium amid fears they could be sent to Hong Kong to break up the protests.

(Image: AFP/Getty Images) (Image: AFP/Getty Images)

China's military had issued a stark warning in a bid to intimidate protesters, saying troops could meet the demonstrators "in 10 minutes", while sharing a photo of a queue of armoured vehicles.

The control weapons, which potentially have the ability to shock people, have been part of the training.

(Image: Getty Images)

Amnesty International said: "A wide range of direct contact electric shock weapons including electric shock stun guns, stun batons and stun shields have been developed, traded and employed by police and security forces throughout the world.

"The use of such weapons results in intense, both localised and general pain but not incapacitation of the subject.

"Potential injuries include burns, puncture wounds and welts, as well as the risk of secondary injuries should the subject fall. Because of their nature and design, direct contact shock weapons carry an unacceptable risk of arbitrary force.

"The ability to apply extremely painful high voltage electric shocks at the push of a button, including to very sensitive parts of a person’s body, and to repeatedly do this without long-lasting identifiable physical traces, makes them a favoured tool of torture.

"Amnesty International has documented such abuse in all regions of the world."

Amnesty added that it has information that more than 200 shock capturing forks were sold to the Linhe District Public Security Bureau back in 2014.