The father-of-11 has 17 previous convictions for 28 offences including four assault occasioning actual bodily harms (ABHs), and four public order matters. Patrick Joseph Murphy, aged 40, of Pen-y-Bryn caravan site, Bynea, Llanelli, was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison. 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". 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. 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. Sentencing the defendants at Swansea Crown Court, judge Paul Thomas KC condemned the disgraceful scenes at the cemetery. 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. It emerged that the disturbance was just the latest in a series of clashes involving various factions of extended families which have seen violent confrontations across south Wales including in Newport, Cardiff, Bridgend, and Swansea. As the disorder developed, a series of running battles was fought around the cemetery as rival groups chased each other. Vans were attacked with hammers and other implements, while vehicles were used to deliberately crash into other vehicles. Gradually police were able to piece together a picture of the events of the day - how feuding families had clashed in the middle of the day when a convoy of vehicles carrying armed men turned up at a graveside blessing being attended by members of rival families. Officers then began the detailed job of tracking the movements of the vehicles involved in the disturbance, both before and after the incident. Mobile phone footage and statements were obtained from some of the witnesses to the carnage, and CCTV footage from in and around the sprawling site was secured. Weapons believed to have been used in the fighting were also recovered from the cemetery and subjected to forensic tests. Some of these vehicles yielded fingerprint and blood samples, as well as dashcam footage - though attempts had been made to conceal the video. The investigation began with the recovery of a number of vehicles which had been involved in and damaged during the mayhem, and had been abandoned at the scene. There was some good old fashioned detective work here." 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. With the kinds of weapons that were used and way vehicles were driven around the cemetery it is lucky nobody was killed. He 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.
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