Six men who fled after a "vicious" attack on a group of friends celebrating a birthday were caught by police after their car broke down.

One of the victims - Craig Glover - was struck with a bottle and knocked unconscious before being kicked as he lay on the ground in Grosvenor Road, Tunbridge Wells.

He suffered a broken nose and a two-inch gash that was so deep it exposed the bone on his skull and required 17 stitches in the 3am attack.

Two others ended up in hospital with head and facial injuries.

The men responsible then piled into two cars and fled.

But one of the vehicles broke down on the A21 and when police stopped to helped them they realised those inside matched the description of the brawlers.

Now Judge Julian Smith has handed out jail sentences of between nine and 22 months after describing the actions of the attackers as "unjustified and inexplicable."

"They fled along the A21... and may have got away scot-free but for the breakdown," he said.

Judge Smith added: "I don't consider you either individually or as a group who went out looking for trouble that night.

"You became involved because of the unwelcome attention to a woman from one of your number causing her friends to object and led to a massive reaction on your part."

The fight happened on April 15, 2017 after one of the attackers placed his hands on a woman's shoulders prompting a man walking with her to ask what he was doing.

In response he was knocked to the floor and struck on the head with a bottle causing him to lose consciousness.

Two other men attempted to intervene to try and protect their friend and were also set upon and repeatedly kicked and punched.

Prosecutor Simon Taylor told Maidstone Crown Court the victims had been at Moo Moo's nightclub and were walking a Subway shop when they were approached by the group.

Da Silva, 20, of Fairfax Avenue, Redhill, was found guilty of two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and a further count of causing grievous bodily harm. He was jailed for two years.

Nawaz, 28, of St John's Road, Redhill, was convicted of grevious bodily harm (GBH) and assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH). He was sentenced to 22 months.

Hussain, 23, of Southmead, Redhill, was found guilty of GBH and locked up for 21 months.

Perkins, 23, of Observatory Walk, Redhill, was convicted guilty of ABH and got 11 months.

Mark Joseph, 25, of Rubeck Close, Redhill, was convicted of GBH and was sentenced to 18 months.

Sami Joseph, 25, of Meadow Way, Horley, was give a nine-month prison sentence after being found guilty of ABH.

Tunbridge Wells chief inspector, Pete Steenhuis, said: "The victims had been enjoying a night out with friends and minding their own business when they subjected to what can only be described as a mindless attack.

"The level of violence and aggression shown by these men was simply shocking and is something we simply won't tolerate on our streets.

"As a district Tunbridge Wells continues to have the lowest levels of reported crime in the county and we work closely with our partners, including for example the borough council CCTV operators and volunteer groups such as Street Pastors, to ensure it remains this way."

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