Electric stun guns disguised as torches land man in court

A GADGET collector was given a suspended jail term after importing three stun guns disguised as torches.

One was intercepted by the Border Agency and the others were found in Lance Booth’s home, Nottingham Crown Court heard.

Booth’s lawyer, Raglan Ashton, said the 54-year-old lived “a rather isolated and lonely existence” after poor health stopped him from working.

“He has spent a lot of time with a number of pastimes, one of which is collecting gadgets.

“If you see his house, it is ram full of gadgets and things of that order. This is something he does a lot of the time.

“He is someone who regularly uses the ‘Geek’ site, which he has used to order a number of electrical devices.”

Booth did not know the items were illegal. He partly had them for self-defence after being attacked by a relative with drug problems, said Mr Ashton.

When police arrived on May 25, two stun guns were on a coffee table. Mr Ashton said: “They were described on the site as a torch with a built-in deterrent. Nowhere on the site does it indicate they were illegal to possess.”

They were made in China and the intercepted parcel came from Singapore, the court heard.

Judge Nigel Godsmark QC said he accepted that Booth did not know it was against the law to own the items and that he had learnt “a substantial lesson”.

He imposed a six-month prison term, suspended for two years, on Booth, of Blackburn Place, Ilkeston who admitted importing a prohibited weapon.

Mark Knowles, prosecuting, said the Borders Agency found the package and handed it to the International Logistics Centre, in Berkshire, on April 3. Police later searched Booth’s home.

Mr Knowles described the devices as “a zapper able to discharge an electric current”.

When Booth ordered one, he paid £15 for it. But this was refunded when it arrived after the promised delivery date, the court heard.