Wild men fight with hammers in cemetery, intrude on ceremony, and spit on floor
Shocking footage has emerged of a group of men fighting with bats, hammers, knives and axes in a Welsh cemetery, damaging gravestones and disrupting funerals.
Boys and men were filmed attacking each other and chasing rivals around Swansea's Morriston Cemetery on August 5, 2022.
At some point, three of the brawlers intruded upon a cremation service for a mother-of-five by running into the chapel of rest and spitting on the floor.
They also drank water from a vase before hiding a weapon among the floral tributes, having first wiped it down to try to remove fingerprints.
Armed men and teenagers caused mayhem around Morriston Cemetery (South Wales Police)Firearms officers and a helicopter rushed to the scene when the incident was reported to the police - with South Wales Police launching Operation Hitchin, which led to the arrests of seven men, Wales Online reports.
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Detective inspector Carl Price said the video - which has never been shown before - shows the level of "violence" and "disrespect" shown by the group to families mourning their loved ones at the cemetery.
Mr Price said: "I think people were shocked by this incident - by the scale of it, the level of violence, the location, and the disrespect it showed to others. With the kinds of weapons that were used and way vehicles were driven around the cemetery it is lucky nobody was killed.
"We brought a lot of different resources to the investigation from extensive analysis of CCTV to forensics, community engagement, and working with cross-border work with colleagues in other forces. There was some good old-fashioned detective work here."
The violence was caught on camera (South Wales Police)Officers recovered a number of vehicles involved and damaged during the mayhem, which were then abandoned at the scene.
The police got fingerprint and blood samples, as well as dashcam footage, from the vehicles.
A number of suspects were identified, with some of them seemingly trying to dispose of evidence by throwing weapons into a stream on a farm near Gorseinon, Swansea.
Some vehicles were also found dumped at various locations in the county of Swansea, South Wales Police said.
One of the machetes used during the disorder (South Wales Police)
One of the weapons recovered as part of Operation Hitchin (South Wales Police)Those identified by police - from teenagers up to men aged in their late 50s - were subsequently charged with offences including violent disorder, possession of offensive weapons, and dangerous driving. All eventually pleaded guilty.
Sentencing the defendants at Swansea Crown Court, judge Paul Thomas KC condemned the disgraceful scenes at the cemetery.
He described how vehicles had been driven around the site "as if it were a racetrack" with lawns churned up by being repeatedly driven over, and a number of headstones damaged.
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Patrick Murphy was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison (South Wales Police)He said what lay behind the feud was unclear, but what was clear was that the violence "came as no surprise" to the various factions, and many people were on "high alert" and had known trouble would erupt at the blessing ceremony.
The judge said it was "beyond the realms of coincidence" that between them, the parties to the conflict had at least one machete, lump hammer, baseball bat, pickaxe handle, shovel, and probably golf clubs, which were immediately "available for use".
Andrew John Thomas was sentenced to three years in prison (South Wales Police)Patrick Murphy, 40, was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison. The father-of-11 had 17 previous convictions for 28 offences, including four assaults occasioning actual bodily harms (ABHs), and four public order matters.
Andrew John Thomas, 40, was sentenced to three years in prison. He had seven previous convictions for nine offences, including battery and a public order matter.
Jeffrey Tawse was sentenced to 18 months in prison (South Wales Police)Jeffrey Tawse, 23, was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
James Coffey, 45, of Wentloog Road, Rumney, Cardiff, was sentenced to two years and three months in prison.
John Coffey Jnr, 24, was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
James Coffey was sentenced to two years and three months in prison (South Wales Police)Martin John O'Brien, 58, was sentenced to 16 months in prison. He has four previous convictions for five offences including affray, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and a public order matter.
John Joe O'Brien, 53, of Sandy Bridge, Llanelli, was sentenced to 16 months in prison for their involvement in the disturbance. He has five previous convictions for 10 offences including affray, a public order matter, and wounding with intent.
Two teenage children of Patrick Joseph Murphy – 18-year-old John Murphy and 19-year-old Paddy Murphy – were given suspended terms of detention in a young offenders institution and ordered to do unpaid work.
South Wales Police detective chief inspector Mike Owens praised the efforts of the team that brought the guilty parties to justice.
He said: "The force was in the spotlight for his this, it was a high profile case and the pressure was on. I want to pay tribute to the diligence of the officers who worked on it, and how swiftly they got results.
"There was great work between Carl and his team and the Crown Prosecution Service. It was only a small team and they tackled this on top of their other ongoing work."
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