Video shows armed men attack each other in cemetery mass brawl

March 13, 2023

Dashcam footage shows the moment a mass brawl broke out in a Swansea cemetery as part of a long-running feud between members of an extended family.

One man was seen holding a machete during the fight while others were seen clutching a hammer, a brick and a piece of wood.

Police also recovered an axe and a billhook from the scene.

The brawl broke out at Morriston Cemetery in Swansea in August 2022 after a high-speed van chase in the surrounding area.

Both sides of a family had been attending a graveside blessing before violence broke out when a group of armed men arrived.

Gravestones were damaged, funerals were disrupted and two people involved in the disorder were taken to hospital - including a teenager who had been stabbed.

Dascham footage shows James Coffey, who was jailed for more than two years after the fight, jump inside his van with what appears to be a black bat in his hand.

The video then shows him pursuing another van through the cemetery.

Coffey then stops his van before jumping out with a piece of wood in his hand.

A man clutching a hammer, who had also jumped out of Coffey's van, then throws a brick towards a group of people off camera.

Seven people, carrying an array of weapons including a machete and a broom, then run past the front of the vehicle.

Coffey is then seen with blood pouring from his head as he jumps back in the van before speeding past mourners in the cemetery.

One person is seen pushing someone in a wheelchair as Coffey drives past.

At the end of the footage it can be seen that one of the men in Coffey's van is holding a machete.

Armed police were called to the scene after the brawl which was also filmed by onlookers not involved in the fighting.

South Wales Police charged 13 people in October 2022 in relation to the fight and seven people, all from Wales, were jailed.

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All of them had been charged with violent disorder and six of them were also charged with possession of an offensive weapon.

Coffey, 45, from Rumney, was jailed for two years and three months for violent disorder, possession of offensive weapon and dangerous driving.

Detective Chief Inspector Mike Owens from South Wales Police said when 13 men were charged: "This was an absolutely appalling incident that would have terrified those in the cemetery in the middle of the day

"The group, who are all known to each other, committed violent offences in the middle of the cemetery and were seen using weapons against each other.

"This kind of criminal behaviour won't be tolerated in our communities and anybody committing these acts will face the consequence of their actions."

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