SIX men responsible for a frightening brawl in Blackwood town centre were caught thanks to CCTV and your Argus.

The fight, described as "ugly and frightening" by a crown court judge, erupted outside the Red Lion in Blackwood shortly after midnight on July 17.

Nobody came forward to make a witness statement but the incident was captured by CCTV cameras and, following an appeal in the Argus, police were able to identify the culprits.

At Cardiff Crown court, judge Christopher Llewellyn Jones sentenced Michael Woodfine, 24, of Fronwen, Blackwood, and 22-year-old Gareth Thomas, of Treetops Avenue, Blackwood, to eight months imprisonment each.

Luke Vye-Parminter, 19, of Chartist Way, Blackwood, and Ross James, 20, of Pen-y-Bryn Avenue, Blackwood who was said to have drunk 18 pints of lager on the night were each sent to a young offenders' institution for eight months.

Gerwin Landrygan, 22, a former Wales schoolboy rugby international of Pen-y-Bryn Avenue, and Lee Hudd, 19, of Maes-y-Coed, Blackwood, were each sentenced to a community punishment order for 100 hours and ordered to pay 100 costs.

Each had pleaded guilty to a charge of violent disorder.

Judge Llewellyn Jones said: "What we have seen is another example of violence fuelled by temper and drink."

He added: "The courts will do all they can to stamp out drunken violence."

After the court hearing, PC Roy Bell, of the Blackwood police station task team, said: "The whole investigation was based on CCTV evidence. We had help from the public in identifying the offenders following an appeal in the Argus so the CCTV was vital.