Voluntary police officers could soon be armed with Tasers.

Kent Police have selected special constables for Taser training while the National Police Chiefs Council's Less Lethal Weapons Lead reviews regulations allowing voluntary, part-time officers to use the electric stun guns.

This comes after the police announced plans to hand out hundreds more Tasers to officers, but a review is now focussing on specials.

To be allowed a Taser, a special constable will need more than 10 years' experience and do an average of 40 hours of duty per month.

They will also need to be trained to the same level as regular officers, pass a higher level in their bleep test, be recommended by their local special chief inspector and then approved by a regular superintendent.

Considering more than 1,200 police officers were assaulted in the county in the space of a year, it is understandable police officers feel the need to protect themselves.

Added to this, Kent has the fastest increasing rate of knife crime in the country, with a 152% rise between 2010 and 2018.

Kent is the only force in the UK to train specials to the same level as regular officers.

Fully-trained specials are deployed to the same calls as their regular colleagues, and face the same risks - hence they require the same protection from harm.

Chief constable Alan Pughsley said: "We are recruiting and deploying more new officers, but I am increasingly of the view that it isn’t enough when we are dealing with violent county lines organised crime.

"Violent crime and assaults on officers are rising and we are dealing with a criminal element who think nothing of carrying – and using – the most appalling knives against each other, against people they wish to rob and victimise, and ultimately against those that stand between them and their victims: the police."

Currently, the force has specially-trained teams armed with Tasers who are called out to assist other officers, and these teams will remain in place.

For those who may be armed with one of the weapons, they must use them "proportionately and reasonably".

The funding for the extra Taser training - just short of £1 million - is coming out of the force's reserves.

Mr Pughsley added: "During my time as chief constable, I have steadily increased the availability of Taser to officers in roles that meet this sort of aggression and violence head on.

"The deployment of more Taser-trained officers enhances our ability to robustly deal with incidents involving bladed weapons and make the public and officers safer.

"I am firmly of the view that it is now the right thing to do."

To get the latest updates in ongoing cases, police appeals and criminals put behind bars, click here

Read more: All the latest news from Kent