A MAN fired a live stun gun twice at a pub to 'show off' to his friends.

Stuart Robinson said he had planned to get rid of the firearm that day but was 'demonstrating' it to his mates first.

The 45-year-old, of Saffron Court, Abingdon, had already admitted one count of having a disguised stun gun.

Oxford Crown Court heard at his sentencing hearing yesterday how Robinson had initially been in the market for a torch.

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The self-employed labourer purchased the item online on website 'Wish' and it was only when it arrived that he realised it was the banned item.

The object was described in court as looking like a torch but with a combination function allowing it to be used as a stun gun.

It did not have the ranged power of a Taser and could only be used in close contact to a person and was described as 'not lethal.'

Robinson said he had intended to dispose of it at a skip at his work but was seen to use it at Abingdon's Boundary House pub car park on the afternoon of July 29 last year.

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He was seen to discharge the stun gun twice and eyewitnesses said they heard a 'crackling' sound after its use.

Prosecutor Julian Lynch said Robinson was 'showing off' the item to friends.

In mitigation at yesterday's hearing Martin Khoshdel said the item was not capable of lethality and his client had no intention to harm anybody.

He added that the stun gun had been bought online 'accidentally' when he was looking for a torch.

Sentencing, Judge Peter Ross said that in the circumstances he could stray from the mandatory five-year jail penalty for having stun guns and order a suspended sentence instead.

Robinson was handed a 16-month jail term, suspended for two years.

He must also be subject to an overnight curfew for three months and complete 15 days rehabilitation.