Drunk people at a funeral in Pontypool started a mass brawl with police in the high street.

Over 30 attendees of a funeral started attacking ‘outnumbered’ police officers on Commercial Street in Pontypool town centre.

The incident came to light when it was featured on BBC TV show Rookie Cops, which has been following new recruits on the beat in the Gwent force. 

“It had been a funeral that everyone had obviously got really drunk at and it had got a bit out of hand,” said an officer on the show.

“People were on the floor, people were up against the fence, women shouting, men shouting,” said Gwent Police officer Alex from Cwmbran.

“One man turned particularly violent and attempted to kick an officer. It is not nice to see anyone get attacked, especially a colleague.”

The man in question was arrested and taken to custody so that “peace could be restored to the streets of Pontypool”.

On tonight’s episode of BBC One’s Rookie Cops, the narrator told viewers that “assaults on emergency workers are on the rise, with more than 11,000 people prosecuted each year in the UK.”

If someone is found guilty of this offence, they can be faced with up to two years in prison.

One of the other men involved was arrested for assaulting officers and was given a community order as well as made to pay compensation.

You can watch this unfold tonight in Episode 3, Series 2 of Rookie Cops, on at 8pm on BBC One.