Chaos erupts in pub as traveller families clash in 'horror' scenes

Chaos erupted in a pub as a feud between two traveller families turned violent. Two members of the Joyce family have been jailed for the 'horror' that unfolded in the Vine pub in Collyhurst, after Joyces and members of the Doherty family clashed.

Dougie Joyce, 36, and his brother Tom Joyce, 27, were both handed jail sentences for violent disorder after trouble broke out for about half an hour. Manchester Crown Court heard that the shocking incident ended with two members of the Doherty family being taken to hospital after suffering ‘significant injuries’.

The two families had attended the pub as part of a wake following the death of two young men who were part of the traveller community. It marks the latest episode in the long running feud between the families. Prosecutors told how trouble began at about 5pm, on Friday, October 2, 2020. They said footage from the pub showed signs of conflict and verbal rows before it turned violent about 20 minutes later, with two groups of about 10 young men forming distinct groups.

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At one point Tom Joyce grabbed a bottle of beer inside the pub and smashed it, before wielding it. As trouble spilled out onto the car park, Tom Joyce continued to be armed with the bottle and as a fight broke out, he struck a member of the Doherty family to the face with it, the court heard. He could be seen to be ‘covered in copious amounts of blood’, as Joyce was then assaulted by others himself.

Dougie Joyce also smashed a bottle in the build up, but did not use it and dropped it. He armed himself with a plastic pipe and threw it at another man, prosecutor Constance Halliwell said.

The injured