The use of Taser guns by Sussex Police has risen in recent months.

Figures published by the Home Office reveal the stun guns were used on 16 occasions between January and March this year, the latest period for which figures are available, an average of more than five times per month.

By contrast, the average number of uses over the previous five years was a little over one a month.

The guns use compressed air to fire two darts that trail an electric cable back to the handset.

When the darts strike, a five-second 50,000-volt charge is released down the cable.

Since the introduction of Tasers in 2004, the figures showed, Sussex Police officers have used the devices 82 times.

Not every use resulted in the weapon being discharged. An analysis of the figures showed they were fired on 19 occasions, while the weapon was merely aimed at a target on other occasions.

It was the second time the rules on Taser use were Guidance states that Tasers can only be used where officers would be facing violence or threats of violence of such severity that they would need to use force to protect the public, themselves and/or the subject.

Nationally, figures showed the devices were used 250 times by specially trained officers between January and March 2009, up from 187 in the previous quarter. They were discharged 62 times in the three months to April, compared with 35 in the last three months of 2008.