About 30,000 police officers across England and Wales are to be trained to use the guns.

Currently, only specialist firearms officers carry the weapon which can temporarily disable a suspect with a charge of up to 50,000 volts.

Ministers have announced plans to buy 10,000 more Tasers and extend their use to all frontline officers.

Mr Goodwill said: "Used properly by the police they are a useful way of apprehending people – without having to use firearms. It is a non fatal way of restraining somebody whose behaviour is such that you can't apprehend them in a normal way."

Acting assistant chief constable of North Yorkshire Police Sue Cross said: "North Yorkshire Police welcomes the announcement by the Home Office.

"We will be studying the report and guidance to assess the future needs in respect of the number of specially-trained officers required to ensure we are able to protect the communities of North Yorkshire from those who pose significant harm."

The Home Office says Tasers have helped to resolve incidents without injury, but Amnesty International warns against using them as tools of routine force.

In recent years Tasers have become standard police equipment in the UK and are regarded as a less dangerous alternative to guns. They deliver an electric shock by two barbed darts trailing wires from the weapon.

Police officers in England and Wales have fired the 50,000-volt stun guns more than 1,000 times since 2004.

The proposals follow a year-long pilot scheme which saw their use extended to frontline officers in 10 police forces.