Golfer, 53, bought illegal £20 Taser gun to tackle rat infestation in 'comedy of errors'
04.10.2022 - 13:25
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
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?”
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Adam Till, prosecuting said: “The officers attended an address and were granted entry by the occupants. The officers carried out a search of the property. In one the bedrooms, PC Quince-Black searched a wardrobe. Inside was a black box with a taser and three cartridges.
“At 10.10pm the defendant was located at his home address. The items were found in a property that he had access to.”
Mr Till said Gilling, of Atlantic Street, Altrincham, was arrested and made no comment at police interview. Examination of the item was then undertaken to establish that it was an illegal firearm as according to the Firearms Act 1968.
“On August 22 a further examination was undertaken and the defendant was related to the item in question,” the prosecutor said, “The