TWO Northwich brothers could be jailed after a vicious, alcohol-fuelled assault.

The teenagers, who cannot be named for legal reasons, face an anxious wait to see whether magistrates will impose a custodial sentence next month.

The pair, from Cuddington, were charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm in September, and admitted the charges at Vale Royal Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

The court heard how one of the brothers had a brief verbal altercation with a former friend's brother in a take-away. Catherine Wincup, prosecuting, and Chris Johnson, defending, gave conflicting accounts of the preceeding moments, but both sides agreed that after a scuffle their victim was hauled to the floor.

The first brother then started kicking the man repeatedly in the head and upper body and was joined by his brother and a 17-year-old, who also cannot be named. They continued to kick the victim, who claims he was unable to stand up because of the sustained attack.

He was eventually able to get to his feet only after the attackers fled, and had blood gushing from his mouth and nose. He also suffered a badly swollen nose and heavy bruising to his face, neck and right shoulder.

Mr Johnson said alcohol had been an aggravating factor and added: 'My clients have never been in court before and they are terrified. They both very much regret their actions and wish they hadn't behaved in the way they did.

'They are both terrified of the outcome of these proceedings and have no intention of getting into this kind of trouble again.'

Chairman of the bench Ken Ashley said: 'This was a group action - you were both involved, you were kicking him in the head and you had been drinking. We are considering custody.'

The pair will reappear before the court on January 3. The third attacker was convicted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and was remanded on unconditional bail until the same day.