A MAN who threatened to kill a police dog in disorder after a funeral at a Kidderminster church has been fined by magistrates.

David Fellows admitted using threatening, abusive words, behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress when he appeared at Worcester Magistrates Court on Tuesday, November 8.

Alinah Iqbal, prosecuting, said on October 24 this year police attended St Ambrose's Catholic Church at around noon after reports of disorder following the funeral.

Miss Iqbal said Fellows was in a group of people approached by officers.

“The defendant was verbally abusive,” the prosecutor said.

“The defendant said to the officer with a police dog ‘I will kill it’.”

The prosecutor explained the 54-year-old was told to move away but he returned, repeating the threat.

She said the dog and officer were in a public setting doing their job when Fellows made the threat, and added his three previous convictions for public disorder aggravated the offence.

Kidderminster Shuttle: Disorder during Kidderminster funeral Disorder during Kidderminster funeral (Image: Facebook)

Fellows, who represented himself, was asked if there was anything he wanted to say to which he replied: “All I want to say is I was angry.

“I apologise to the officers involved. It was stupid, I did it on the spur of the moment.

“I’ll accept any sort of punishment.”

Fellows, of Ryton on Dunsmore, Coventry, said he was currently out of work spending his time doing volunteering for charity.

After deliberations, Philip Newton, chairman of the magistrates bench, told Fellows they have decided to punish him with a financial penalty.

Fellows was fined £40 and ordered to pay costs of £135 and a victim surcharge of £16.

Fellows asked if the total, £191, could be deducted from his benefits, magistrates agreeing to that request.

We previously reported armed police and the ambulance service were called out to reports of a man being attacked with a machete outside the church in Coventry Street, Kidderminster.

The funeral had been held for 40-year-old Roody Smith and Father Douglas Lamb, who gave the service, said Mr Smith was a member of the travelling community and his family "regularly worship" at the church.

He said the funeral was able to resume in a "respectful way" after initial fighting, but said brawling continued following the service.

He said: "Fighting started in the street. It was quite shocking".

"After the funeral we weren't able to leave the church for quite a long time because it wasn't safe to move people away".

He added that the Smith family are "very good parishioners" and he hopes the disorder does not "reflect badly" on them.