An electrician bought three stun guns on the internet to see "how they worked"

David Ruane said he intended to "reverse engineer" the shock devices out of curiosity.

Last Wednesday, Falkirk Sheriff Court was told that Ruane, 49, was was caught after Border Force officials at Heathrow Airport monitoring the 2014 pre-Christmas post intercepted and opened a parcel mailed to him from Poland.

Prosecutor Jemma Eadie said: "They found a stun gun inside that had the outward appearance of being a torch, with electrodes round the rim of the torch."

The depute fiscal said the "torch", which had arrived in the UK on December 3, 2014, was forwarded for examination to police in Scotland, where it was confirmed to be a prohibited weapon under the Firearms Act.

At dawn on December 22 last year, police armed with a search warrant raided Ruane's then home in Stenhousemuir, Stirlingshire.

They found two more stun guns, also disguised as torches, in the pocket of a leather jacket belonging to Ruane, and a can of CS spray in a coat of his wife's.

Ruane was arrested and taken to Falkirk police station.

Miss Eadie said: "He was interviewed and told the police he was someone who was interested in gadgets and he used the internet to search for things.

"He said he was an electrical engineer and he found these sort of things interesting.

"He said he was going to 'reverse-engineer' them to try to understand how they worked."

Ruane told police he had paid £10 to £20 each for the stun guns.

Ruane, a first offender and father-of-two, now of Grahams Road, Falkirk, pleaded guilty to possessing and attempting to possess prohibited weapons.

Simon Hutchison, defending, handed the court three references about Ruane from work colleagues and his employers.

Sheriff Craig Caldwell deferred sentence until December 10 for social work inquiries, and continued Ruane's bail.

He said: "This is a serious matter. I require to obtain background reports before I can determine the appropriate sentence."