The family of an 89-year-old man shot with a Taser stun gun by police yesterday spoke of their anger at his treatment.



Officers fired the 50,000-volt weapon at the war veteran after he disappeared from his care home and threatened to cut his throat with a piece of broken glass.



He is the oldest man to have had a Taser used on him.



Police said they had taken the decision to stun him for his own safety.



Shocking: The pensioner was stunned by the gun, like above, after threatening to cut his own throat with broken glass (file picture)

But yesterday relatives demanded an inquiry saying it was amazing that he hadn't suffered a heart attack.



The retired carpenter, who has not been named, is now recovering in hospital.



He was found wandering around Llandudno, North Wales, early on Saturday morning in a confused state.



After he threatened to kill himself, police shot him with the gun, which fires darts attached to lengths of wire which carry an electric charge, causing temporary paralysis.



He was treated for minor injuries caused by the shard of glass that he was holding, before being referred to a psychiatric unit where he is said to be traumatised by his ordeal.



North Wales Police said they were not referring the incident to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, but yesterday his family said they were determined to force an inquiry.



His sister-in-law said: 'It's diabolical what they did to an old man. I've told officers: "How would you like it to happen to your old Dad?" I'm lodging an official complaint.'



The man's nephew, an engineer, added that his uncle had gone into a residential home three weeks earlier, apparently suffering from the onset of Alzheimer's disease.



'He didn't like it there and walked out a few days later, and then again on Saturday,' he said.



'We've been to see him in hospital and he seems better than for a long time. He can remember what happened with the Taser. He says the pain was excruciating and that he was frightened to death.



'The police say he was holding a shard of glass to his neck but we think they should have tried persuasion. It's a miracle he didn't have a heart attack on the spot. Of course we are angry. We've been told his arms were handcuffed behind his back, which we don't think is the way to treat an old man who had never been in trouble in his life.'



A police spokesman said: 'In the circumstances the specially trained officers made the judgment, in order to protect the life of the man, that the use of Taser was the safest and most appropriate option.'



The IPCC said it would investigate if it received a complaint.



Hailed as a non-lethal alternative to firearms, Tasers, which have a range of around 20ft, have been linked by human rights groups with hundreds of deaths in the U.S. and Canada.



Experts have warned against using them on children and vulnerable adults because of the risk that they can trigger a heart attack.



However, they are now widely used, with the Government in the process of issuing forces around the country with a further 10,000.

