A JURY trial for two men charged with fighting each other with knives and a sword in a Greenock street cannot be set because of current Covid-19 court rules.

John Glancy and Stephen Shields — who have both lodged special defences of self-defence — are accused of engaging in a stand-up battle which is said to have left them both severely injured.

Currently dates for sheriff and jury trials can only be fixed for cases involving a single accused person.

Glancy, 41, and Shields, 39, are said to have conducted themselves in a disorderly manner, shouted, swore and placed people in a state of fear and alarm during the alleged blade fight on Ann Street last May.

Both men have maintained pleas of not guilty through lawyers Derek Buchanan and Bob Mitchell.

A further preliminary calling of the case has been set for March 23.