A teenager who was spared jail for having a banned taser is starting a five-year sentence - after top judges ruled his original punishment was too soft.

And he has been ordered to hand himself in to a police station so that his punishment can begin.

Lewis Alan Davidson, 19, was given “another chance” by Judge Peter Davies at Carlisle Crown Court after police discovered the disguised weapon in his car.

He avoided the automatic five-year minimum term for the offence of possessing a disguised firearm and was instead handed a 12-month suspended sentence in July.

But Davidson, of White Ox Way, Penrith, has been locked up by judges at London's Court of Appeal.

They said there were “no exceptional circumstances” to justify any reduction from the minimum term.

Davidson was reported to police after snatching two £10 notes from a man and offering to sell him cannabis on March 17.

He was stopped by officers later the same day and his Vauxhall Corsa was searched.

Police found what looked like a mobile phone stashed in a void under the gearstick, but it was later discovered this was the disguised taser.

When tested, it released an arc of electric current, the court heard, although it had not been fired and there was no charger for it.

Davidson said he had been coerced into keeping the device for an unidentified associate and had it for about a month.

He admitted possessing the banned weapon, as well as theft and possessing and offering to supply cannabis.

After reading letters from members of Davidson’s family, Judge Davies said he would give the teenager “another chance” and suspended his sentence.

But lawyers for the Attorney General, Jeremy Wright QC, argued the judge should not have departed from the normal minimum sentence set by Parliament.

Nicholas Walker, for Davidson, tried to persuade the Appeal Court that Judge Davies was entitled to show mercy in the way he did, to reflect the teenager’s troubled background.

He said: “Mercy, leniency and taking a risk are part of the functions of an experienced judge.”

However, Lady Justice Sharp said the sentence was “unduly lenient” for the offence.

Sitting with Mr Justice Haddon-Cave and Mrs Justice Elisabeth Laing, she added: “We conclude that the judge was wrong to find there were exceptional circumstances in this case.

“The offender had the disguised taser in a public place and in circumstances where it was charged and readily available for use.

“He had also been involved in an incident which he was fortunate did not result in a robbery charge, and was in possession of cannabis.

“He had previous relevant convictions for threatening someone with a bladed article.

“The fact it was a disguised taser, was not used and that he was only 18 at the time are not factors which constitute exceptional circumstances.”

Davidson was ordered to hand himself in at Carlisle police station by 4.30pm today to start his sentence.