A MAN with a volatile streak threatened and attacked family members on his return home after a friend’s funeral.

Matthew Wunderlin felt he had been pushed by someone at the post-service wake in a workingmen’s club and rang a friend still at the venue to find out who was responsible.

As it was still noisy at the club, Wunderlin was shouting so his friend could hear him, but it caused one of his mother’s dogs to bark at her home in Trimdon Colliery.

Durham Crown Court was told the defendant, who had been drinking heavily after the funeral, kicked the dog.

Martin Towers, prosecuting, said his mother challenged him over his behaviour, but he placed both of his hands to her face and pushed her backwards, causing her head to hit the freezer door.

Wunderlin, who was shouting and screaming, kicked the back door and said she was not a good mother.

She left the house with the dogs, making for the home of her daughter, on foot.

As she was barefoot she fell over at one point, but as her son approached one of the dogs bit his arm, which Judge Jonathan Carroll described as, “summary justice”.

He later used an axe to smash a window at his sister’s home after being told to leave.

The 36-year-old defendant, of St Pauls Road, Trimdon Colliery, admitted affray and possessing an offensive weapon stemming from the incident, on December 13.

Vic Laffey, mitigating, said Wunderlin has been in custody since the incident.

He said the defendant needed hospital treatment after the assault following the funeral but was “shocked” and “disappointed with himself” over his actions later, particularly at the distress he caused at his sister’s home.

Judge Carroll imposed an eight-month prison sentence for the affray and added four weeks for the offensive weapon charge.

He made a restraining order prohibiting him contacting his sister’s partner or approaching within 75-metres of their home for five years.