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By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 2:08 PM on 11th July 2011

A police watchdog was today probing why an 82-year-old man was Tasered by armed officers and hospitalised for six days.

The pensioner was shot with the 50,000-volt stun gun after apparently 'threatening' a man.

A team of armed police officers swooped on him in a west London street before firing the electroshock weapon.

An 82-year-old was in hospital for six days after being shot with a 50,000 volt Taser

He was later arrested on suspicion of carrying an offensive weapon and criminal damage to a vehicle in Ealing, west London.

However, he was later rushed to hospital by ambulance after complaining of 'pain' after arriving to Acton police station.

The gun fires darts attached to lengths of wire which carry an electric charge causing temporary paralysis.

The 82-year-old was kept in Central Middlesex Hospital for six days after being Tasered before being discharged.

The case is now being investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission following the shooting on the morning of June 28.

IPCC Commissioner Rachel Cerfontyne said: 'Our investigation will examine whether the use of a Taser in these circumstances was proportionate and appropriate.'

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police refused to comment while the investigation is being managed by the watchdog.

An 89-year-old man from Llandudno, North Wales, is the oldest man to have been shot by a Taser.

The war veteran was shot by officers after escaping from his care home and threatening to cut his throat with a piece of broken glass.

North Wales Police said they shot the retired carpenter for his own safety in January 2009.

Hailed as a non-lethal alternative to firearms, Tasers, which have a range of around 20ft, have been linked by human rights groups with hundreds of deaths in the U.S. and Canada.

Experts have warned against using them on children and vulnerable adults because of the risk that they can trigger a heart attack.