THREE men were locked up for what a judge described as a mindless and unjustified violent attack in Newport city centre.

Polish workers Grzegorz Choynowski, Daniel Kochanski, and Tomasz Sobieraj pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to violent disorder.

Judge John Curran sentenced 34-year-old Sobieraj and 23-year-old Choynowski to 12 months imprisonment. Nineteen-year-old Kochanski, who like the others lived in Vivian Road, Newport, will serve his 12-month sentence in a young offenders institute.

Newport Crown Court was shown CCTV images of the attack on two men on January 5 which included them being kicked as they lay on the ground.

Andrew Davies, prosecuting, said the pleas of the three defendants were considered acceptable because of the non co-operation of the victims and the limited injuries.

Neither man went to hospital or sought medical treatment.

James Evans, for Choynowski and Kochanski, said it was obvious from the video that the violence was orginated by the three but that there had been some sort of verbal altercation inside a club earlier.

He also told the court that both victims had numerous previous convictions.

Choynowski and Kochanski, both of clean character, had come from Poland to work but wanted to return home as soon as possible.

Mr Evans added they did feel remorse for what happened.

David Webster, for Sobeiraj, was a married man with two children who worked hard to support his family.

When sentencing the three men, Judge Curran it was yet another example, as the security camera video so vividly illustrated, of a completely mindless and unjustified act of violence in the public streets.

He added the three defendants had set about the two victims by punching, kicking and stamping.