Machete attack on mourner

Weapons were found hidden under pews at a Catholic church after a mourner had been attacked with a machete at a funeral, a jury heard.

Police discovered a knife, a Stanley blade and a machete in the search of St Mary’s in Cannock Road, Wolverhampton. The haul was found after a fight between two feuding families of travellers, a court was told. Prosecutor Sunit Sandhu told Wolverhampton Crown Court: “These were found in and outside the church but we cannot say whose they were.”

The court heard that “more than 10” weapons had been left there following the attack at the funeral attended by members of the travelling community in January last year.

Terence Maughan was punched in the face and clubbed over the head and back with a machete outside the church while waiting for proceedings to start.

His alleged attackers – father and son Patrick and Simon Doherty, aged 49 and 28 respectively, came from a clan involved in a long-running feud with his family, the court was told.

Mr Maughan, who lives in Featherstone, told the court

that he tried to escape into the church when the Doherty party arrived but could not open the door as he was “panicking”.

He told the jury: “I said to Patrick ‘I don’t want any bother’ and he replied ‘You are going to get it’.

“He punched me in the face several times. Then Simon pulled a curved blade from inside his tracksuit top and hit me over the head and back with it.”

Mr Maughan’s son, who was 14 at the time and gave evidence from behind a screen, told the jury: “I screamed ‘please don’t kill my Daddy’ but they didn’t pay any attention.”

Mr Maughan, who fled with the boy, denied allegations in court that he knew the attackers were not the two defendants but had blamed them because of a feud between their families.

Simon Doherty, from Riverside Caravan Park in Queens Ferry, North Wales, denies wounding with intent and his father, who lives in Duchy Road, Salford, Manchester denies assault.

The trial continues today.