Four Englishmen were given a one-year jail term suspended for two years, after they pleaded guilty to assaulting three police officers and resisting arrest, slightly injuring them and wilfully disturbing the peace.

Christopher Pocock, 31, Jame Warwock, 41, Alexandria Terri Finch, 19 and a 17-year-old male, said that they had tried to defend Mr Pocock’s disabled brother, who was attacked in St Paul’s Bay, at 5.45am, on Wednesday.

It all started following a family incident were the police tried to control the tourists who had an argument.

Legal aid lawyer Renzo Porsella Flores said that his clients did not do the right thing but, although nothing justifies attacks against the police, emotions got in the way.

Magistrate Carol Peralta said that any form of resistance to any legitimate authority, especially the police cannot be condoned. However, he understood the circumstances and believed that an effective period of imprisonment was not ideal.

Inspector Sandra Zammit prosecuted.