ENGLAND’S biggest county is to train more police in the use of Tasers – after a jump in attacks on officers.

Less than a fifth of North Yorkshire’s officers are currently trained to use Tasers – which temporarily stun belligerent offenders through an electric shock.

But following an increase in reported assaults, the county’s Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, said agreement had been reached with chief officers to increase the number of Taser-trained officers.

According to the Federation’s figures, the number who reported being injured through assault in the line of duty in 2013/14 was 34, and while that dropped to 30 in 2014/15, officers have been injured 44 times already in 2016 alone.

Their figures also record 89 assaults that didn't cause injury so far this year, and that 35 officers were injured while restraining a suspect. Figures from 2014/15 show 168 non-injury assaults, and 87 injuries during restraining.

Deputy secretary PC Brad Jackson said: "We were concerned that the perception, that assaults on officers were ‘just part of the job’, was leading to under-reporting.

"That made it difficult to accurately determine the risks that police officers in North Yorkshire face. We therefore encouraged our members to ensure that incidents of violence against them were being properly recorded."

PC Jackson said a new plan had been agreed to treat assaulted officers as victims of crime and supported by the force, but new training will make Tasers more available to officers from July.

During the first phase of training, 24 officers will attend, with more following in coming months.

PC Jackson added: "We are pleased that the force has responded to our concerns positively.

"Tasers have proven to be a very effective way of dealing with a potentially violent individual. They allow the officer to maintain distance, minimising the risks to both.

“Simply drawing and aiming the Taser is often sufficient to safely conclude an incident, without it ever being actually used."

The force’s head of specialist operations, Superintendent Dave Hannan, said 265 of the force's 1,343 officers were Taser-trained, and that on average, 122 officers were attacked every year. Last year, 115 officers were assaulted in the line of duty.

Supt Hannan said: "North Yorkshire is a very safe place, and thankfully the use of Tasers during incidents is rare.

“Taser is an excellent use of force option that officers can turn to as and when the situation they face justifies it to protect the public and themselves."