TASERS are now being carried by trained officers in Inverclyde.

The devices came onto patrols at midnight on June 1, only hours after two police officers were allegedly stabbed in Greenock.

The use of tasers was discussed at a meeting of the local fire and scrutiny board in front of councillors.

Chief Superintendent Gordon Crossan, speaking at the meeting, said: "Tasers have been rolled out for a number of reasons, for officer protection and also reducing complaints against police and to act as a deterrent as the threat of a taser makes them comply.

"It gives arresting officers another option."

Chief Superintendent Gordon Crossan has confirmed that more officers will be trained on how to operate tasers.

He told the Telegraph: "The roll out of Conductive Electrical Devices (CED) has commenced across the division and will continue until such times as we have enough trained officers to meet the allocation been given to the division.

"For operational reasons we are not disclosing the amount deployed in any area of Scotland."

Chief Supt Crossan says no tasers have been used as yet in Inverclyde.

He said: "They have not been used to date. They are likely to be used on a very occasional basis where conventional officer safety techniques have either not worked or are deemed insufficient to deal with an incident.

"The division has an allocation which will be deployed as required on a daily basis, with no set allocation for any particular area of the division."

Meanwhile an online appeal set up to pay for family holidays for the two officers injured in the recent Gateside Gardens has exceeded its target.

The fund now stands at £3,220.

Ch Supt Crossan said: "The injured officers continue to recover at home and are being supported by Police Scotland, locally by our management team as well as by their peers."

If anyone wants to make a donation they should visit https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/k-division-injured-officers?utm_id=62