A young couple have been told they behaved "disgracefully" when a man was hit on the head with a police-style truncheon.
A court heard trouble flared at a block of flats in Harwich after a woman slipped on a step and bruised her leg.
She thought someone had sprayed polish on the stairs and along with a friend went to find who was responsible.
But Chelmsford Crown Court heard the incident ended in violence.
Jamie Coe, 19, of Langham Drive, Clacton, and Skye Hurling, 20, had denied being responsible for the attack at the flats in Currents Lane.
They were found guilty of joint charges of actual bodily harm to Paul English and possessing an offensive weapon.
Hurling, of New Street, Brightlingsea, was cleared of another charge of assaulting 64-year-old Margaret Knight.
Judge Anthony Goldstaub QC gave the pair 18-month rehabilitation and 85-hour punishment orders.
More in today's Evening Gazette
Published Monday, November 15, 2004
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