A POLISH family man living in Cheshire bought a torch with a built-in stun gun from a Chinese website unaware that it is classed as an illegal weapon in the UK.

Konrad Dabrowski, 35, pleaded guilty to purchasing a disguised firearm during a hearing at Chester Crown Court on Friday (December 7).

The offence usually comes with a minimum five years in jail – but Judge Steven Everett said there were ‘exceptional circumstances’ that allowed him to suspend the 12-month sentence he imposed.

Dabrowski, of Wright Avenue, Northwich, bought the ‘torch’ online on around October 12 last year as he was looking for a light for his mountain bike.

It cost around £10 – the same as most other bike lights - but with the ‘two in one’ added stun gun function.

Mandy Nepal, prosecuting, said that on October 17 a Border Force officer in Slough intercepted the package as it came into the country.

It had the defendant’s name and address stamped on it and was therefore passed to Cheshire Police to investigate.

On December 23, Dabrowski, who has a young child and a wife on maternity leave, was arrested and interviewed twice.

An examination of his phone revealed search terms such as ‘can I use a stun gun in self-defence?’.

He accepted he knew the ‘torch’ discharged electricity but did not realise it was illegal in this country, Miss Nepal said.

“He didn’t intend to hurt anyone with it,” she added.

Chris Hunt suggested to the judge that this was a case that did not require immediate custody as there were exceptional circumstances.

He told the court the offence was introduced into UK law after a Bulgarian dissident was killed in London around 40 years ago by an assassin wielding a firearm disguised as an umbrella.

His client had no such ill intentions and was a hard-working man of impeccable character with no previous convictions who simply did not realise he was breaking the law.

Judge Everett accepted Dabrowski had not known the device was illegal and did not intend to use it for illegal purposes.

He handed the defendant a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for a year, and ordered that the stun-gun-torch be destroyed.

Allowing a relieved Dabrowski to be released from the dock, he told him: “This is a valuable lesson learnt. If you come into this country, you have to make sure you know what the laws are.”

Dabrowski and his wife plan to move back to Poland, the court heard.