Police officers hunting for Raoul Moat were “excited” by the arrival of new Tasers just hours before they entered a stand-off with the fugitive gunman, it was reported today.

A police union renewed its call for Taser stun guns today after Austriallian police officers shot dead a 15-year-old boy in a skate park who had threatened them with knives.

Medical examiners have found that Taser electric stun guns, which are being trialled by British police forces, may have played a role in at least five deaths, contradicting the manufacturer’s claim that the weapons never killed or injured anyone, a US newspaper reported.

In the latest move to improve safety in the skies, US airline, United, today became the first major carrier to announce plans to install stun guns in the cockpits of all its planes.