Children as young as 10 and an 87-year-old pensioner have been tasered by police amid a sharp rise in officers firing the devices in the last three years.

A Sky News investigation has revealed details of incidents where officers have fired the 50,000-volt stun guns at minors and elderly people between 2018 and June this year.

The findings come amid calls for the UK to ban the use of Tasers on under-18s.

Police chiefs have defended using the weapons on youths, saying they commit "a lot of violent crime".

It comes after PC Benjamin Monk was convicted of the manslaughter of 48-year-old former footballer Dalian Atkinson who died after being tasered for more than six times longer than the normal cycle.

Following freedom of information requests by Sky News:

• Gloucestershire Police said a 10-year-old boy was tasered after he approached officers with a large knife and refused to drop the weapon following an incident where he threatened to harm someone.

• Bedfordshire Police tasered a 12-year-old who showed "active resistance" following a stop and search after being suspected of carrying a weapon.

• Hertfordshire Police said an 87-year-old was tasered after an officer was threatened with a firearm.

• Devon and Cornwall Police tasered a 15-year-old who was making "violent threats towards an officer" and threw a bottle which narrowly missed.

• Humberside Police said an 83-year-old man was tasered after he barricaded himself in a kitchen armed with weapons, including a knife and a large metal instrument, and was throwing items at officers.

• West Yorkshire Police tasered a 79-year-old man armed with a knife after he had harmed himself and was threatening to take his own life.

The same force also tasered a 14-year-old boy after a masked gang broke into a property and he became violent when he was found inside.