Man 'shot policeman with his own Taser' at Synod Inn

A Dyfed-Powys Police officer was attacked at Synod Inn, near Capel Cynon in Ceredigion

A man grabbed a policeman's Taser and shot him in the chest before escaping in a stolen tractor, a court has heard.

The officer was attacked after stopping a suspected disqualified driver in Synod Inn, Ceredigion, in February.

Darryl Matthew Dempsey, 24, is being tried for seven offences in his absence, after he was declared unfit to stand trial at Swansea Crown Court.

The jury will not decide on whether or not he is guilty, but determine whether or not he committed the offences.

Mr Dempsey, of Brading Close in Eastbourne, East Sussex, faces charges including aggravated vehicle taking and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

His alleged accomplice, Wayne Dobson, pleaded guilty to six charges at an earlier hearing.

'Short struggle'

PC Dafydd Edwards, of Dyfed-Powys Police, was following a Land Rover reportedly being driven by a disqualified driver on 9 February, Swansea Crown Court heard.

Jim Davis, prosecuting, said PC Edwards had parked in a lay-by in Ffostrasol and gone to speak to two men who then got out of the Land Rover.

Mr Dempsey "made a lunge" for PC Edwards's Taser and shot him in the chest, before Dobson stamped on his knees and back, Mr Davis said.

The men attempted to steal PC Edwards's police car, it is alleged.

They took a John Deere tractor from a nearby farm "smashing through any gates in the way", the court heard.

Then they took a Range Rover and a Volvo and fled to Cardigan, before going their separate ways, it is alleged.

The trial continues.