Re: self defense with a skillet in the UK, here's a newspaper article that covers this topic, that you may find interesting:
british newspaper article

I stand by my apolitical assertion that the British perspective on self defense is of little practical value, as it embodies severe restrictions that do not exist in the US.

Back to the thread - has anyone done any testing of striking surfaces with these types of heavy flashlights to see if they actually hold up? I have a couple of large maglights on either side of the bed, and though they feel solid, I wonder if they would simply break (i.e. physically deteriorate, or stop producing light) if used defensively. I've also know the lens to come unscrewed after some time of activity carrying one of these. FYI, I had a smaller maglight in my pocket on a roller coaster ride once, it almost completely disassembled during the ride!

On a related note, are there known LED plugins for the larger size of maglight? I've only seen a $5 kit for the smaller.