THREE men have appeared in court over a bloody fight in a Co-op.

A man was stabbed in the neck with a broken bottle at the store in Hangleton last month, and three men were later charged with affray.

Brothers John and Declon McLoughlin, 33 and 28, were in the dock at Hove Crown Court yesterday.

Elder brother John McLoughlin, of Egmont Road in Hove, pleaded not guilty to affray, and is due to stand trial at the beginning of January next year.

He was released on bail and must not contact co-defendant Matthew White, who pleaded guilty to affray at an earlier date.

John McLoughlin was also told he must not enter the Co-op or other shops at The Parade in Hangleton Road.

Bald John McLoughlin wore a striped shirt and blue Adidas trainers.

He sat alongside his younger brother who was in a black short sleeved shirt and also had Adidas trainers on.

Declon McLoughlin did not enter a plea as his case was adjourned because he “has not been given proper advice about his case”, the court heard.

He was released on bail until later this year.

Declon McLoughlin was told he must not contact White or enter the Co-op or other shops at The Parade.

White, of Hangleton Way in Hove, sat separately from the brothers in the dock yesterday.

But the 33-year-old will not be sentenced until his co-defendant John McLoughlin has been tried, Judge Jeremy Gold QC told him.

He was told not to contact either of the McLoughlin brothers and not to enter the Co-op or other shops at The Parade.

Judge Gold said White would receive full credit for his early guilty plea.

The identity of the man injured in the attack was not revealed in court, but police said he was 33.

He was taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton for treatment after the incident.

Blood was seen smeared across a window at the Co-op at 5.30pm on June 11, with onlookers describing the scene as “like a horror film”.

One shopper said at the time: “There was blood all over the door and the pavement and the inside of the shop was trashed. I’ve never seen anyone with so much blood all over them. It was like a horror film.”

The shop was closed after the incident and specialist officers were seen investigating a mess in one of the aisles.