A MAN has been jailed for five years for possession of a stun gun disguised as a mobile phone.

Frank Winston, 32, of The Briars, Harlow, was arrested on August 22 in The Briars and the item found to be a prohibited weapon under section five of the Firearms Act 1968.

He appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court on Friday, October 7, where he was jailed for five years and told he will serve at least half of his sentence behind bars.

Dc Donna Money said: “I would like to thank residents for continuing to assist us with this matter and hope the sentence handed down by the courts in this case serves as a warning to others who think that carrying such a device is excusable.

“On first glance this item appeared to be a normal mobile phone. However, on closer inspection it was actually a stun gun capable of releasing in excess of 20,000 volts. Items such as this are extremely dangerous and the police and justice system will not stand for this, as the sentencing has shown. If anybody has an item such as this I urge them to hand them in to the nearest police station immediately or expect to find yourself in a cosy cell in prison!”