FOUR Basingstoke men have been jailed for their parts in an early morning incident in which a man was beaten semi-conscious.

Judge Michael Brodrick vowed to "send out a message" as he sentenced the men at Winchester Crown Court.

Roy Woods, 23, of Coniston Road, Kempshott, was convicted of assaulting Michael Dunn, causing actual bodily harm, while Marc Lilly, 22, of Mathias Walk, Brighton Hill, and Adam Neale, 24, of Colyer Close, South Ham, were both convicted of affray.

A fourth man - 23-year-old Paul Tanner, of Harrow Way - pleaded guilty to assaulting Mr Dunn.

The incident which landed the four in court happened during the early hours of February 9 last year in Worting Road, Basingstoke. Speaking at a previous hearing, prosecutor Nigel Mitchell said trouble had flared after Lilly headbutted a man called Daniel Herman.

When Mr Herman's friends, Jamie Dawe and Michael Dunn, went to see what was happening, a fight broke out. Neale hit Mr Dawe on the head with a bottle and Mr Dunn was assaulted during the attack.

It was the Crown's case that Woods had assisted by encouraging Tanner - shouting "bite him" - and by preventing Mr Dunn's friends going to his aid.

Before sentencing, Judge Brodrick told the men he would look at each case individually.

He told them: "I am quite satisfied that these offences are so serious that only a custodial sentence can be passed for them.

"This, in my judgement, was a case of the kind of behaviour the public find increasingly intolerable from young men who have too much to drink and become violent in the early hours of the morning.

"The time has come to send a message to other young men minded to behave in a similar way."

Tanner was sentenced to 15 months, Woods and Neale were jailed for nine months and Lilly was sentenced to six months.