Thug attacked stranger with stun gun

Steven Burns discharged the banned weapon, which can deliver 15,000 volts of electricity, at his victim in Edinburgh's New Town as he headed home from a night out.

Civil servant Craig Samuel, 37, was also kicked in the attack and suffered a fractured eye socket and blurred vision.

Father-of-two Burns, who celebrated his 33rd birthday on the day of the assault, was earlier seen buying batteries to fit the gun at a filling station.

Advocate depute Iain McSporran told a jury at the High Court in Edinburgh: "You may think the accused, having got batteries for 'his toy', was looking for someone to try it out on."

Burns was today convicted of assaulting Craig Samuel to his severe injury and permanent disfigurement and impairment on June 10 last year at East London Street, in Edinburgh, by a majority verdict.

Burns, who denied the offence, was originally charged with the attempted murder of Mr Samuel, but the Crown reduced the charge during the course of his trial.

He was also found guilty of being in possession of a prohibited weapon, the stun gun.

The unemployed scaffolder, from North Berwick, in East Lothian, who has previous convictions including assault, robbery and possession of an offensive weapon, was out on bail at the time of the attack.

Mr Samuel was walking home in the early hours listening to his MP3 player when a silver Audi pulled up beside him.

The front seat passenger called him over seeking directions, but Mr Samuel realised the man was having him on and started to back off.

But within seconds he was given an electric shock from the stun gun and knocked to the ground. As he started to get up his attacker got out of the car and blasted him again with the weapon. He tried to rise again but was kicked in the face.

Mr Samuel was unable to identify his attacker. But later that day police on mobile patrol passed a silver Audi parked in Mitchell Street in the Leith area.

A police sergeant said the man behind the wheel, Burns, was someone "of interest", although he was unaware of the stun gun attack at the time.

He stopped intending to speak to Burns who ran off onto derelict ground. Other officers were called in as well as a police dog and Burns was detained after the dog seized him by the leg.

During a search of the car a stun gun was found in the vehicle along with 9v batteries. Blood from the attack victim was discovered on the weapon.

Mr McSporran told the jury: "This is a brutal, unprovoked and sinister attack on a man who is walking home."

The judge, Lord Clarke, deferred sentence on Burns, described as a prisoner in Edinburgh, for a background report and risk assessment.