Four men have appeared in court charged with carrying out a serious assault in Girvan.

Leighton Warnock, 21, of Masonhill Road in Ayr, Jordan Brown, 23, of Rodney Drive in Girvan, and Lewis Gibson, 23, of Dalrymple Street, also in Girvan. pleaded not guilty at Ayr Sheriff Court to allegations that they carried out assaults on two men, leaving both of them severely injured.

They are alleged to have assaulted two men by repeatedly punching and kicking them  to the head and body to their severe injury in the town’s Wesley Road on March 16 this year.

A fourth accused, 23-year-old Dawson Warnock, is alleged to have assaulted one of the men by punching him in the head, again to his severe injury, in the same incident.

The quartet were represented at a brief court hearing by solicitors John Gallagher and Steven Maxwell, who told Sheriff Maria Kicinski that their clients were pleading not guilty.

The procurator fiscal depute said the prosecution was ready to go to trial on the charges, with the trial set to hear from seven civilian witnesses and eight police officers.

The four men were all granted bail and will return to court at a later date.

All accused persons reported in the Ayr Advertiser are considered innocent unless they are later found, or admit to being, guilty.