Preston Crown Court heard drunk assaulted relatives and three Lancashire police officers after dad's funeral

A drunken man who viciously assaulted his mother, brother and three police officers just days after his father's funeral was jailed by a judge in Preston.

Dean Sanders, who was said in court to have been "totally out of control" during a row in the family home in Chorley, was sent to prison for two years and three months by Recorder Tim Harrington.

The 36-year-old, who had a history of violence - including previous assaults on emergency workers - was told by the judge: "I accept that this was a difficult time for you to say the least. (But) this behaviour is so serious that only a custodial sentence can be passed."

The court heard Sanders' father had died after a year-long battle with cancer just days before the incident. His stepfather was also seriously ill and passed away just days afterwards.

Barrister Sarah Grufyydd, prosecuting, said Sanders, of no fixed address, sent a text message to his mother asking for money and later called at her home in Chorley to pick it up. He was said to have been behaving erratically and pacing in and out of the living room where his brother Byron was sitting.

Sanders then grabbed a bottle of wine from the kitchen and started drinking from it. He then became abusive to his mum. His brother told him to calm down and stop being disrespectful. In response Sanders hit him on the back of the head with the bottle.

A struggle ensured during which Sanders allegedly tried to gouge Byron's eyes. He also punched and kicked his mother in the face. She was then  kicked in the body, throwing her across the room onto a sofa.

She called 999 and, when police arrived, Sanders was on the floor with both his brother and mother on top of him trying to restrain him.

When police tried to handcuff Sanders he resisted, violently kicking out at the officers. One squirted PAVA spray in his face in an attempt to subdue him. But Sanders then bit a woman officer on the hand, breaking the skin.

Eventually the police managed to get him in handcuffs and, as they stood him up, he kicked out at the woman officer. At that point they used limb restraints to prevent him from causing them any more injuries with his boots.

Once in the police van Sanders started to hit his head on the side of the cage. At one point they had to pull over to the roadside because he looked to have lost consciousness. An ambulance was called and he was removed to hospital.

Miss Grufyyd said Sanders' criminal record included 31 previous offences, six of them for violence and four for possessing weapons. In 2019 he was convicted of two cases of assaulting emergency workers.

Lawyer Rachel Woods, representing Sanders, said the incident on August 10 came at a "very emotional time for all parties." Following the death of his father and the serious condition his step-father was in at that time "his response was to go on a drinking binge."

She added: "He had spent his money on alcohol. He had contacted his mother because he needed money to spend on food, not more alcohol.

"He lost control of himself that day. When police arrived to arrest him matters just escalated further, resulting in him having restraints put on him. Alcohol was a contributory factor. In no way was this a planned incident, it just sparked off.

"He is now estranged from his two family members who were giving him support. He has an issue at times with authority and the police. But he has been doing extremely well in prison (on remand) and is responding to the regime.

"It shows that away from alcohol and the stresses of daily life he can be a well-behaved member of the community. He realises there are issues that cause him to lose control of his temper in times if stress and under the influence of alcohol.

"Whilst this is a deeply unpleasant and shocking case, there are mitigating circumstances."

Recorder Harrington told Sanders: "What you did was appalling. The victims were two people who you should have been looking after, not attacking.

"Your brother was attacked with a bottle. You tried to gouge his eyes out. Your mother tried to intervene and you kicked her and spat at her. You went totally out of control."

In addition to 27 months in prison, the judge imposed a restraining order, banning him from contact with his brother and mother, for five years.