Some intrepid journalists put their lives in danger to file reports from war zones but it is a rare reporter who actually volunteers to be shot.

Today a reporter from Sky News agreed to be zapped with a Taser by a police marksman, to test the effects of the weapon which an Amnesty International report today linked to 70 deaths in the United States and Canada.

Struck in the behind by the probes from the stun gun, reporter Derek Tedder fell to the ground. For the first few seconds the news channel bleeped out his reactions.

When he had recovered a little, he reported: "It's like someone ramming you with a bed of very sharp nails over your entire body. I couldn't do anything but fall to the floor."

Amnesty International today said that Tasers, intended as a non-lethal alternative to firearms, should never be allowed on general use to all officers in Britain. The human rights group called for more research on their potential dangers.

Kate Allen, the UK director of Amnesty International, said: "Tasers have been used in the US against pregnant women, unruly schoolchildren and mentally ill people. In some cases, simply walking away from a police officer has led to people getting a 50,000 volt electric shock. Is this a glimpse into the future of UK policing?"

"We want an assurance from the Home Office and police chiefs that Tasers will only be issued to trained firearms officers and kept locked in the firearms box. Tasers could kill, so they must be treated as lethal weapons."

The report includes a review by Amnesty International of information on 74 deaths involving the M 26 Tasers, used in Britain since 2001.

The report is based on a range of sources, including autopsy reports in 21 cases. The weapon is used by 5,000 law enforcement agencies in the United States.

According to the report most of those who died were unarmed men who, while displaying disturbed or combative behaviour, did not appear to present a serious threat to the lives or safety of others.

In one case in Indiana in 2003 a mentally ill prisoner died after the last of six shocks was delivered while his hands were reportedly handcuffed behind his back. The cause of death was given as a heart attack, drug intoxication and electrical shock.

Taser guns use compressed nitrogen to fire two needle-tipped darts attached to wires up to 21ft to deliver a disabling, 50,000-volt shock.

During a 12-month trial, police in five forces including the Metropolitan Police deployed the weapon 60 times. It was fired only 13 times and police reported that in many cases the sight of the Taser was enough to force the suspect to surrender.

In September the Home Office decided that chief constables can issue the weapons and yesterday the Independent Police Complaints Commission supported their use.

The Home Office said that there was no question of the general issue of the guns. A scientific committee had examined the weapons and concluded that "the risk of deaths from high-powered Tasers is low. No weapon is risk free but this is a less-lethal option to conventional guns".

The spokesman agreed that deaths have been linked to the weapons but there are no reports that any resulted from "primary injuries" caused by the Tasers.

He said that the committee asked for further research but did not feel that there should be any further delay in issuing the weapons.

Nick Hardwick, chairman of the IPCC, said he shared Amnesty International's view that the weapons should not be misused. "The IPCC supports the use of Tasers as less lethal options for trained firearms officers only. If the option is to shoot somebody dead or use a Taser, we back the use of the Taser every time."

Mr Hardwick said: "We accept that there are inherent dangers in using a Taser. However in the year-long trial no one suffered any serious injuries."

He said the Taser had saved lives and probably saved serious injury to officers as well. The IPCC fully investigates the use of the weapons.

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