TWO Irvine thugs have been jailed for carrying out a "horrendous" and "unprovoked" attack at the Rivergate Shopping Centre.

Ben Abercrombie, 30, and Darryl Gilmour, 25, appeared at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court earlier this month to be sentenced over the incident more than a year ago.

The pair previously pleaded guilty to a charge of assaulting a man at the Irvine mall on February 6, 2023 by punching and kicking him on the head, causing him to fall to the ground.

Court documents describe how the pair then stamped on the man's head and body as well as repeatedly punching and kicking him on the head and body, all to his severe injury.

Abercrombie's solicitor explained that both his client and Gilmour had been at a funeral earlier that day and had been drinking heavily.

The lawyer said: "He recognises the serious nature of the offence. His sense of reality was obliterated by his level of intoxication.

“At this time in his life he was going through a challenging time, having lost his job not long before.

“He has taken a number of steps to address contributing factors at the time of the offence. He is a man who can abstain from offending.

“He has abstained from alcohol use since the date of offence. He has moved back in to his mum’s house after living by himself at the time of the offence.

"This has removed him from the negative peer circle he had at that time.”

Graeme Cunningham, defending Gilmour, said it was a "horrendous" incident and that his client had been "showing off" at the time.

Mr Cunningham said: "A massive amount of alcohol had been taken that evening but [CCTV] video quite clearly showed an unprovoked attack."

The solicitor added that while Gilmour has a number of prior convictions, he "thought his days of offending were behind him".

He added: “He was showing off to his peers at that time. He had community based disposals at the time and they seemed to work.”

But Sheriff Murdoch Mactaggart said community sentences were not an option for either accused.

He said: “I have considered a lot that has been said on your behalf. I believe there is no alternative to custody.

“Stamping on his head. Kicking his head. Even when he got back up, you started again.

“This could have easily had much more serious consequences."

Abercrombie, of Fairlie Drive, was jailed for 13 months and two weeks.

Gilmour, of Bankhead Avenue, was sentenced to 12 months, to reflect his plea of guilty at an earlier date than his co-accused.