Man who glassed fellow mourner at funeral in 'unprovoked attack' is jailed

A mourner who smashed his wine glass into the face of another man at a funeral wake has been jailed for eight years.

Max Prior, 36, used such force that the glass shattered, and he then thrust the broken shards back into his victim’s face.

A court heard that he only stopped when he was pulled away by onlookers at The Traveller’s Rest in Cockerton, on October 14 of last year.

Mourners had attended a funeral at the crematorium and a wake at Cockerton Club.

Prior, of Darlington, was found guilty of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm by a jury after two hours of deliberations at Teesside Crown Court.

He was handed an extended eight-year prison term on Friday, and told he will serve a minimum of four years before the parole board can consider if it’s safe to release him. Once he is out of jail, he will be on licence for the remainder of his sentence.

A trial heard how Prior did not know his victim. CCTV footage played during the trial showed the two men sitting on tables next to each other and engaged in what seemed to be ‘amicable conversation’ moments before Prior launched an ‘unprovoked’ attack.

The trial heard it was ‘by some small miracle that no permanent damage was caused to the victim’s eyesight.’

The man was left with permanent scarring to his face, however and psychological damage, after the attack.

During the trial, Prior took to the witness stand and told the jury he acted in self-defence, without letting his barrister know this was his claim beforehand.

While appearing for his sentencing from HMP Durham in an orange prison cleaner polo top, Prior interrupted the judge to say: ‘I just thought I’d stand up and tell the truth.

‘I thought things were getting made up left, right, and centre and I just told the truth.’

Having not prepared a defence statement, Prior’s barrister Brian Russell asked no questions of the prosecution witnesses giving evidence during the trial.

The hearing was ‘unique’ in that Prior only gave his side of the story for the first time to the jury, having not even disclosed it to his own lawyer, which he says is because he does not trust the police nor those working in the justice system.

In his evidence, Prior claimed his victim started an argument with him, saying: ‘He was holding his head in his hands and he made a really loud groaning noise and turned towards me and said ‘I don’t know you and I don’t want to know you now **** off before I hit you, you ****’.

CCTV footage of the attack showed blood pouring down the victim’s face, but at no point does the victim put his head in his hands.

The footage, which was played to the jurors, captures Prior and the victim sat talking in the lounge area seconds before what the judge said was ‘an unprovoked attack in a gross overreaction to a perceived slight’.

On Friday, the court heard that Prior has previous convictions for affray after attacking someone at a christening, an attempted robbery, and the possession of an offensive weapon.

The judge told Prior that whilst he took into consideration his long term mental health difficulties including paranoia, there was a significant risk that he would offend again:

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