TWO Dumbarton men have pleaded guilty to assaulting a man outside a nightclub in the town.

Andrew Banks, of Caledonia Terrace, and Connor Buist, of Victoria Street, both Dumbarton, admitted repeatedly punching and kicking their victim on the head and body, causing him to fall to the ground, and repeatedly kicking him on the head and body.

The offence happened on May 14 in Riverside Lane, near Cheers nightclub.

A third accused, Callum Murray, 19, of Bontine Avenue, Dumbarton, had his plea of not guilty accepted after discussions with the crown.

Buist was not present at Dumbarton Sheriff Court for the plea last week.

Sheriff Simon Pender deferred sentence on 18-year-old Banks and 22-year-old Buist to December 1 for reports, including a progress report on a community payback order handed to Banks after a previous assault.

Banks had been given the punishment as an alternative to custody after he pleaded guilty to assaulting a fellow party-goer in Helensburgh with a single punch that forced his victim to get a metal plate in his jaw.

The teenager – who could not be named when he appeared at Dumbarton Sheriff Court last year because he was under 18 – had gone to the party in Rhu Road Higher on March 6, 2016, after being invited along with other Dumbarton pals.

That court hearing was told that at some point the teen and his friends were asked to leave and he was “vexed”. When he asked to speak to the man who asked him to leave, he punched him once on the left hand side of the face.

The punch was so hard that the man fell to the ground. He was taken back into the house and was bleeding from the mouth while his attacker walked off in the direction of the golf course. An ambulance was called and its crew alerted police.

When officers arrived, the victim refused to go to hospital, while the householder claimed he didn’t know the name of the attacker and had never seen him before.

But the next day, the victim awoke in significant pain in his mouth and went to the Vale of Leven Hospital.

He was found to have a double fracture to his jaw and was transferred to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital where a metal plate was inserted.

Police returned to the party home and the householder’s partner gave a statement naming the teenaged attacker.

Police turned up at the boy’s home and as he was led away, he said to his mother: “Remember to give the names of the girls because it was self defence.”

The court was told the attacker and his victim had never met before the night of the party.