A warrant has been issued for the arrest of three men who have admitted taking part in pre-arranged brawls in the heart of an Aberdeenshire town.
Inverurie residents were alarmed when groups of youths from across the north-east descended onto the streets in May 2017 to fight.
Some had travelled from Oldmeldrum, Stonehaven, Portlethen and the Kincorth area of Aberdeen by car or train to take part, and witnesses described seeing people covering their faces with balaclavas and bandanas as they exchanged blows.
Four men, who all had differing levels of involvement in the fights, appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court earlier this month and were all fined.
Another three were due to be sentenced yesterday for breach of the peace offences.
Liam Geals, a 22-year-old of Hunters Rise in Pitmedden, 21-year-old Craig Hay of Mill Road in Port Elphinstone and 22-year-old Rhys Simpson of Kellands Place in Inverurie, all failed to appear.
Sheriff Graham Buchanan ordered that a warrant for their arrest be issued, and they will appear in the dock after police have tracked them down.
They had all admitted “conducting themselves in a disorderly manner” by shouting, swearing and challenging one another to a fight.
They also pleaded guilty to “gesticulating in an aggressive manner”, walking into the path of oncoming traffic, shouting and swearing at police officers, behaving in an aggressive manner and “engaging in fights”.
In the wake of the 2017 incidents, additional police patrols were put onto the streets of Inverurie to head off the potential for further incidents and reassure the public.