TWO men in their early 20s have avoided jail after kicking a 58-year-old man in the face.

Joe Brown and Zak Smithey, who are both from Newport, booted Michael Drew when he was on the ground after violence erupted in Newport city centre following an early morning stand off on June 18, 2017.

The defendants were travelling in a car when their path was blocked and someone who was in a group with Mr Drew sat on the vehicle’s bonnet in Griffin Street.

Brown, 21, from Morden Road, and Smithey, also 21, from Hawthorne Avenue, got out and a confrontation led to the complainant being set upon, although he did not suffer any serious injuries.

The pair each received a 10 month sentence, suspended for two years, at Newport Crown Court.

They will each have to observe a curfew between the hours of 8pm and 5am for four months, and must stump up £250 in costs and a £250 victim surcharge.

The pair were due to stand trial at Cardiff Crown Court, accused of causing assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

But before a jury could be sworn in, the pair pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of affray against Mr Drew which was accepted by prosecutor Claire Pickthall.