WEDDING CRASHERS: Nottinghamshire police called to fights, thefts and rapes at weddings and funerals

Figures obtained through the Freedom of Information Act showed that officers have been called out to incidents at such events numerous times this year, including one wedding where a child was allegedly raped. No-one has yet been brought to justice for this shocking crime, which the force said involved a child under 16.

Other incidents include one mourner who was hauled before a court after battering someone at a wake.

And scraps have spilled out of control at three weddings in 2015, with one alleged brawler charged after they were nicked on one couple’s perfect day.

The figures show that despite them being a day of celebration, police are seven times more likely to be called to a wedding in Nottinghamshire than a funeral.

Bestselling celebrity author GP Taylor was a vicar in North Yorkshire before leaving the church a decade ago.

In his 13 years as a man of the cloth he said he witnessed some incredible sites ‐ and claimed alcohol was usually at the root of them..

“There was one incident when the service went well but once this family all left the church and moved outside, they all just started fighting,” said Mr Taylor, author of the bestselling Shadowmancer books, which have been turned into Hollywood movies.

“It got so out of control they brought a dog handler in ‐ it was absolute carnage.

“There were people running around with blood on their shirts, which had been ripped in the scuffle while people were screaming and crying.

“I said to them ‘This is a house of God and a place of peace!’ But it didn’t stop them, and it just kicked off.”

But it isn’t just days of celebration in which tempers flared.

“There was a funeral at a church in which the police had to remove a mourner as she was paralytic drunk,” added Mr Taylor.

“She was screaming shouting, falling over people and falling over the coffin.

“It was hysterically funny but it is a time of great sadness so you have to be sensitive.”

He also recalls another incident where police were called to collect a vicar from a hedge after he drunkenly fell into it prior to a christening.

“Another vicar was called to do the service while he sobered up in the back of the police van,” added the author.

Half of all the call outs in Nottinghamshire were for booze‐fuelled assaults . However it wasn’t just violence that kept police busy.

Some brides and grooms have had their special day marred by light fingered guests.

And anybody breaking the law at weddings and funerals has a good chance of getting off the hook.

Our probe’s revealed only a quarter of offences have resulted in someone being charged.

And elsewhere, police dealt with shocking offences across the country.

In South Wales, someone working at a wedding reception exposed themselves to a guest, while in East Yorkshire a bride’s parents were arrested after hurling expletives at the groom’s family.

In Somerset, married life for one couple literally started with a bang ‐ after a bride‐zilla belted her hubby‐to‐be.

And one guest at a Derbyshire wedding was arrested for rape ‐ only for the rapist to receive a mere caution.

Yet while most services pass without incident, Mr Taylor added: “The trouble is these are times of incredible emotion, and any time alcohol is involved and families are brought together that can be fractious.”