When Norfolk weddings and funerals go bad

For most people, weddings and funerals are highly emotional events which bring together families for a get-together.

But the added ingredient of boozy toasts to the happy couple or the dear departed can lead to a potentially explosive cocktail of alcohol, tears and infighting that sometimes means the police are called.

An investigation of Norfolk Police figures has revealed wedding guests and mourners have been left black-and-blue after fights broke out after the service.

And in one instance one mourner’s life was even threatened at a cemetery in North Norfolk.

Elsewhere, one wedding party guest was dragged out of the reception by her hair after ugly scenes unfolded in Yarmouth.

And it was a case of siblings at war in Norwich, when one attacked the other? at the funeral of one of their parents.

Celebrity author GP Taylor was a vicar before leaving the church a decade ago.In his 13 years as a man of the cloth he said he witnessed some incredible sites at weddings and funerals, and claimed alcohol was usually at the root of them.

"There was one incident when the service went well but once this family all left the church and moved outside, they all just started fighting," said Mr Taylor, author of the best-selling Shadowmancer books, which have been turned into Hollywood movies.

"It got so out of control they brought a dog handler in. It was absolute carnage.

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"There were people running around with blood on their shirts, which had been ripped in the scuffle while people were screaming and crying.

"I said to them ‘This is a house of God and a place of peace!’ But it didn’t stop them, and it just kicked off."

But it isn’t just days of celebration in which tempers flared.

"There was a funeral at a church in which the police had to remove a mourner as she was paralytic drunk," added Mr Taylor.

"She was screaming shouting, falling over people and falling over the coffin.

"It was hysterically funny but it is a time of great sadness so you have to be sensitive."

He also recalls another incident where police were called to collect a vicar from a hedge after he drunkenly fell into it prior to a christening.

"Another vicar was called to do the service while he sobered up in the back of the police van," added the author.

Exclusive figures obtained through the Freedom of Information showed booze?fueled violence sparked the most 999 calls at funerals or weddings.

One of those calls was made in Norwich, after police crashed a wedding party after a mass brawl of up to 30 guests broke out.

One grieving mourner was hauled before a court for hurling a pint glass at a car containing family members at a wake in South Norfolk.

In total, four of the ten call outs made by police so far this year have ended up with someone in court, with suspects in the dock for brawling at weddings and fighting with guests.

However, Norfolk Constabulary dealt with some relatively tame crimes compared to other forces.

In South Wales, someone working at a wedding reception exposed themselves to a guest, while in East Yorkshire a bride’s parents were arrested after hurling expletives at the groom’s family.

In Somerset, married life for one couple literally started with a bang – after a bride?zilla belted her hubby?to?be.And in perhaps the most shocking incident, one guest at a Derbyshire wedding was arrested for

rape. The alleged rapist was only cautioned for the sex attack.

Yet while most services pass without incident, Mr Taylor added: "The trouble is these are times of incredible emotion, and any time alcohol is involved and families are brought together that can be fractious."

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