A £10,000 WEDDING at the Marriott in Swindon ended in arguments and arrests.

The daughter of two travellers got married at the hotel on March 17, but celebrations soon turned sour and the day ended with her parents being charged with racially-aggravated harassment.

Douglas Ward, 41, and Mary-Anne Ward, 43, of Greenacres Traveller Site in Trowbridge, pleaded guilty to the charges at Swindon Magistrates Court.

Pauline Lambert, prosecuting, said: “Police were asked to attend reports of a disorder at the hotel.

“They found Mary-Anne Ward shouting at staff and accusing them of being racist towards her family because they are travellers.”

She then turned to the night porter, an Indian member of staff, and made a racist remark.

Miss Lambert said: “She was arrested and placed in a police van outside, where Mr Ward then approached the officers and said he wanted her to be de-arrested.”

Dourglas Ward turned to PC Sin and referred to him indirectly by using the constable’s Chinese ethnicity followed by a four-letter word, and for this he was also arrested.

Miss Lambert added: “In interview, Mrs Ward admitted what she said and Mr Ward said he didn’t remember saying what he said but was very sorry.”

Gordon Hotson, defending, explained why the couple became so hostile during the wedding.

He said: “There were 50 guests invited, it was quite lavish, it cost £10,000, they felt it would be like a status symbol so they used up all of their savings.

“It began well with no issues, they had both drank alcohol but that’s not out of the ordinary at a wedding.

“They felt an uneasy presence because the staff were following them around and asking what they were doing, treating them like schoolchildren.

“Their daughter became highly emotional, then staff followed Mrs Ward to her room and one of them is alleged to have said ‘If we’d known this was a pikey wedding, we never would have let you come here.’

“Mrs Ward went down to make a complaint to the manager and the rest is history.

“Mr Ward felt hugely embarrassed when he saw his wife being what he describes as ‘manhandled’ by police outside.

“They are not racist, they experience racism regularly.

“Mr Ward had a serious back injury in 2016 and takes medication, while Mrs Ward has arthritis and had operations for spinal fusion, so she takes a lot of medication to help her walk.

“He does not claim benefits as he feels ashamed and relies on his family for support.”

The couple were fined £320 each and ordered to pay £100 in compensation to their respective victims, plus costs of £85 and £32 to victim services.