Jed Acheson, 25, of Edward Street, and Johnny Ney, 27, of Jindalee Avenue, were in Summer Street at 2.10am on October 28 when they saw the three men being ushered out of a hotel by security.

Acheson and Ney followed the group and got into a six-minute fight with the three men near McNamara Street while security tried to stop it.

Magistrate David Day said Acheson and Ney had no reason to interact with the other group of men and the security staff, however they got “right in there”.

“The message to send to the community is drunken violence and street violence is not to be tolerated,” Mr Day said.

“It’s a very serious offence, the duration of the offence and the level of violence offered.”

Acheson was given a 19-month jail sentence with 10 months to be served without parole until April 26 for kicking one of the men in the head, when the man was on the ground.

The victim was unconscious for about a minute as a result of the kick, then when he tried to get up Acheson came from behind and knocked him down again face-first with a punch to the back of his head. 

He also repeatedly kicked two of the men as they lay motionless on the ground after being hit from behind by Ney at the end of the fight.

“They are defenceless on the ground, potentially unconscious, he takes the opportunity to put in the boot,” Mr Day said.

Ney was given an 18-month jail sentence with nine months to be served without parole until March 26 for knocking one of the men out for about four minutes although his solicitor Mason Manwaring said it wasn’t certain the victim was unconscious for the full four minutes.

According to police Ney also punched a man who was being restrained by security.

Mr Manwaring asked to adjourn Ney’s matter so he could get a new pre-sentence report in the hope it would offer an alternative sentence to jail but Mr Day refused.

However, Mr Day did take into account that Ney’s time in jail could be more onerous if he spends it in protective custody as a result of being the victim of a previous vicious assault in jail. 

The affray was caught on CCTV and the three other men have been charged but are yet to appear in court.