Unholy brawl erupts during Mass
Heavy chairs were thrown down an aisle at St Edmund’s Church in Southampton during the brawl in the middle of the service, said Monsignor Vincent Harvey.
The priest managed to continue the Mass after police arrived to arrest those involved.
Fr Vincent said: “There was loud talking going on at the back but I just assumed some people had had a bit too much to drink. But then about three or four minutes later, there were scuffles going on. Then it was obvious it was more than just a scuffle, there was actually a fight going on.
“The person involved started throwing fairly heavy chairs down a side aisle, endangering people’s lives. People were frightened that it was happening. If they’d hit anybody they could have been badly injured.”
He said stewards helped to remove the people from the church, and said those involved in the fight were not regular churchgoers.
Fr Vincent said the fight “dampened” the service but that most were in a positive mood when they left.
