Father of Taser victim fears plans to train more police

A father whose son died five days after being Tasered by Devon and Cornwall Police has spoken of his concerns about plans to double the number of officers trained to use the weapons.

Andrew Pimlott died in 2013 some days after police Tasered him in Plymouth. His father Kelvin is worried about their widespread use.

He wants no parent to ever endure what happened in his back yard. His son had been barred from his parents' house by a court order. When Kevin called police they arrived swiftly.

32-year-old Andrew had doused himself on petrol and was said by police to be holding a match. A Taser was deployed, he caught fire and died days later from his burns.

The inquest found the Taser was a significant factor in his death but the officers had acted within their training guidelines.

• Watch Devon & Cornwall Police demonstrate Taser use

Over the past five years in the force, Tasers have been drawn on 1,600 occasions but they have only been fired a quarter of those occasions. They say Tasers are most powerful as a deterrent and the time is now right to double the number of trained officers.

Andrews Pimlott's family has received compensation. While his father recognises Tasers do have a role to play he hopes what happened should be at the forefront of police officers' minds undergoing training.