Five men have been jailed after a man was glassed in the face and another was attacked outside Cinnabar Café in Stevenage.

The violence broke out at about 12.40am on July 17 last year after the men, who all live in Scotland and were in the Stevenage area for work, were ejected from the High Street drinking venue by door staff.

Ryan Wilson, 32, from Springhall in Glasgow, admitted in court to hitting one of the two victims in the face with a glass, and was sentenced to four years in jail on Friday.

Wilson and four other offenders left the scene, but police traced them to a hotel in Stevenage using a photo that had been taken inside the bar.

When the men were found they were in just their underwear, having disposed of their clothes.

Officers searched the High Street and in a bin found a distinctive T-shirt that they identified as the one Wilson had been wearing at the time of the incident.

The other four men also pleaded guilty before the sentencing at Cambridge Crown Court on Friday.

Fraser Gemmell, 31, from Cambuslang, Adam Elder, 29, from Hamilton, and William Thomson, 31, from Castle Walk in Glasgow, were each sentenced to 16 months behind bars for violent disorder. David Donaldson, 29, from Sandyhills in Glasgow, was given 20 months for the same offence.

Det Con Hayden Cogins said: “At the time of the offence there had been a torrential downpour of rain and the High Street was flooded, which meant any forensic evidence was lost and washed away from the scene, but the quick actions of officers meant vital evidence was secured and ensured that the offenders were located quickly.

“I hope these sentences send home a message that violence will not be tolerated in Stevenage and we will act quickly to arrest offenders and bring them to justice.”