A BLIND man who was tasered by police after they mistook his white stick for a samurai sword has said lessons have failed to be learnt after a similar incident in Manchester.

Last week a man was tasered by Greater Manchester Police after his cane was mistaken for a gun.

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The case echoes that of Colin Farmer, a blind man who was tasered in Chorley after his white stick was mistaken for a sword in October 2012.

Mr Farmer was walking in Chorley town centre on the way to meet friends at a pub when he was tasered and then handcuffed.

About the Manchester incident, a force spokesman said: "Armed response officers attended and a taser was deployed. A 43-year-old man was detained.

"Officers later discovered the man was in possession of a folding cane and he was subsequently released."

The force confirmed the man was blind.

Superintendent Steve Howard, of GMP's City of Manchester Team, said: "Officers responded quickly to the incident to ensure the safety of the community of Levenshulme.

"It has been established that there was no threat and inquiries are ongoing to fully understand the circumstances of the incident.

"In line with standard procedure on occasions such as this, a referral has been made to GMP's Professional Standards Branch."

Mr Farmer, 69, said: "It appears four years on, no lessons have been learned from what happened to me.

"My thoughts go out to this man. I've no doubt he will have been terrified and physically hurt by this appalling mistake."

At the time Mr Farmer was tasered, police launched an investigation into ‘what lessons could be learned’ and the matter referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Amnesty International UK's head of policy and government affairs, Allan Hogarth, said the incident was "extremely disturbing".

He said: "The Taser is a potentially lethal weapon which should be used only in a strictly limited set of circumstances, namely a threat to life or the risk of very serious injury.

"We're calling for police officers to undergo rigorous training which takes into account how to respond to people in vulnerable groups, including the visually impaired."