Chaos erupted at the wedding when a cousin of the groom ignored requests to drink water and instead swung a punch at a security guard, breaking his glasses, before being taken outside
Police stormed a wedding reception after a mass brawl erupted when the bride asked one of her guests to leave after they drunk too much champagne.
NHS manageress Jade Topping was said to have told her husband’s cousin Daniel Williams “the cavalry was on its way” after he ignored requests to drink water. But when security staff intervened Daniel, 29, refused to go quietly and instead jumped up from his chair next to the dance floor of the wedding venue. He swung a punch at security guard Craig Brown breaking his glasses before being taken to the floor and escorted outside.
There, a further altercation erupted during which Daniel’s father John Williams, 54, punched the wedding venue owner’s nephew who was trying to break up the fight. Eye witnesses said the scene at a wedding barn at Alcumlow Hall Farm near Congleton, Cheshire ended up in “absolute chaos.”
Police arrived to find Mr Brown with a cut on his cheek while Luke Maxwell whose uncle Todd runs the venue suffered a sore face and head after being hit in the temple. Daniel himself suffered a black eye and reddening to his face in the melee.
At Crewe magistrates court, groundsme Daniel and John, who live together in the village of Harriseahead, near Stoke-on-Trent were found guilty of assault.
Daniel was ordered to complete a 12-month community order, undergo 120 days of alcohol monitoring and was told to be pay £150 compensation with £439 in costs. John was fined £750 and was ordered to pay £125 compensation and £625 costs. Both denied wrongdoing.
The incident occurred on August 6 last year when the father and son and various members of the family had watched Jade who in her 20s tie to the knot with husband Jack Williams in a lavish ceremony. Daniel’s mother Deborah Williams, 58, told the hearing trouble began after the newly weds had the first dance.
“I remember Daniel saying to me I will just have to sit here and drink water all night but he seemed happy,” she said. “He did not appear drunk at all to me and I thought he was behaving and complying. Then I remember Jade coming over to Daniel. She came from the side and behind Daniel over his shoulder, she was leaning over his shoulder and saying something to him.
“I heard Daniel say, ‘I have not done anything wrong.’ Jade then looked at me and nodded. I thought she was nodding at me but the security staff must have been behind me. In a split second a guy came across past my left shoulder and somebody came around the table on that side, both put hands on Daniel and pushed him to the floor. I saw them there on the floor and restraining him on the floor. They were restraining Daniel.
“I saw a lot of men gathering and before I knew it they got him on his feet and he was through a fire exit door. I was aware of a lot of people spilling out of the venue. Daniel was being surrounded by lots of people including the people who were wearing the black and security people.
“They were getting closer and closer as if coming in on him. There was lots of noise going on, shouting. And I saw my son and the security people on the floor. There was a lot of noise, it was chaos and panic. I saw him covered in blood. He was staggering and bewildered. He looked horrendous. He was covered in blood and his clothes were ripped. My husband was clearly very upset. He had tried to help my son who was getting beaten up.”
Another relative Ruth Bostock, 51, from Congleton said: “When I got to the table I found out that someone had asked Daniel to leave. They are saying he has had too much to drink. My aunt was not feeling too well so I went to the toilet with her and as I left the table, the bride was approaching him.
“I presume she asking him to leave but when I came out Daniel was on the floor with several men in black on top of him. Two were holding him down and a man holding his legs down. They eventually exited through the side door but once outside it was just total chaos. The bouncers got him on the floor and there was a wedding guest, my husband, another cousin trying to get him.
“Daniel was in the wrong not wanting to leave, but he is not being charged with not leaving the venue. He is charged with assault. From what I saw, they assaulted Daniel. Daniel did not assault anybody. John was trying to intervene.”
Mrs Bostock’s husband Gary, 57, said: “Daniel’s behaviour had been fine that night. He was a bit rowdy and joyous, but I never saw him annoy anybody.”
But Vincent Yip prosecuting said: “For whatever reason Daniel is asked to go on water. He seems to calm down and then goes back on the alcohol again and it then gets to a point Jade or Mr Brown, has asked Daniel to leave. Daniel has refused to do so. He stood up and punched Mr Brown to the face knocking off his glasses and causing a cut. Luke Maxwell realised something was happening and he goes to get involved and is punched to the side of the temple by John Williams.
“There was a very confusing melee on the floor both inside and outside the venue.” Defence lawyer Mr Steven Nikolich said: “This was a family affair at a specialised wedding venue in the Cheshire countryside. Jade had warned Daniel that the cavalry were on their way when she spoke to him at the table – and that is what happened. They didn’t ask any questions and instead began a sustained assault against Daniel Williams. Police said he was covered in blood from his nose when he was custody. He is very dishevelled and bloodied from the facial area. It was self-defence.
He added: “John Williams effectively he came in to try and extricate his son from a melee. Luke Maxwell comes running up and Mr Williams thought that was another person running into the melee so unfortunately he hit him with a preemptive strike to the face.
“John cares very much about his son Daniel and he was trying to help him all through the night at the wedding. That is why he became involved and tried to extricate Daniel on a couple of occasions with what he became involved in. In sentencing JP Anita Davies said: “We have listened to what has been said – the main problem appears to be alcohol.”
