TWO brothers who were charged with a hammer attack had the allegation dropped by prosecutors after agreeing to plead guilty to a 'horrible' breach of the peace.

Kevin Keith, 44, and Jamie Keith, 40, had been accused of repeatedly striking another man on the head during a neighbourhood noise dispute on Greenock's Brachelston Street.

However, it was withdrawn as part of a negotiated plea to repeatedly kicking the door of a flat and making threats of violence.

Prosecutor Emma Jeffrey told the town's sheriff court: "The door was shaking as a result of the kicking and both accused were shouting and swearing about the close door being kicked.

"Both children were upset."

The Keiths were heard to shout, 'Yous are gonnae get it' to occupants inside.

They committed the offence on December 18 last year and have been held in custody since then.

Solicitor Aidan Gallagher, representing Kevin Keith, said: "He was concerned about noise in the close, and the close door being kicked open.

"This was associated with persons he understood to be frequenting the property upstairs from his.

"Unfortunately the manner in which he has gone about that, with hindsight, was wholly unacceptable.

"In the context of complaining about other noise they clearly created a disturbance themselves."

Keith, who lives below the flat he targeted, has convictions for three similar offences, the court was told.

His brother's lawyer, Edel McGinty, said: "Jamie Keith was visiting his brother and effectively got caught up in this."

Sheriff Andrew McIntyre said that the disturbance the pair caused was 'horrible', adding: "It is worse because little children were in the house.

"These are little children and they should not be exposed to this type of behaviour."

The sheriff imposed prison sentences and backdated them to when the brothers were first remanded in custody which resulted in their almost immediate release.