Two men who carried out a series of violent attacks, including racially aggravated assaults on a group of Chinese students in Glasgow city centre have been jailed.

Liam Murphy, 19, was sentenced to nine years in prison, while Bradley Lawrie, 20, was ordered to serve seven-and-a-half years.

Murphy pled guilty to nine mostly aggravated assault charges and Lawrie to a total of seven offences which were committed over one night in Glasgow on 14 September last year.

Sentencing them at the High Court in Glasgow, Lord Cubie described the attacks as a "rampage" and the worst case of sustained city centre violence he had encountered in more than 15 years.

Murphy denied being a racist as "white people were also attacked" while Lawrie insisted he was not a bigot as he had a friend from Iran.

The pair carried out the eight violent assaults on strangers over a period of four-and-a-half hours, the court heard.

Students Yucheng He, Zhibo Lu, Hanqing Li and Rui Sun were attacked at 20:30 after they heard smashed bottles, and were then confronted by the group who pushed and punched them.

Prosecutor Shanti Maguire said: "Mr Sun observed Murphy and Lawrie shouting at the group.

"He could not understand all of what was being said, but could hear they were shouting a slur from across the street."

One of the students, He, was repeatedly hit on the head, Lu was headbutted and Li was struck on the mouth.

Murphy and Lawrie then grabbed glass bottles from a nearby bin and started hurling them at the frightened men.

He was hit three times by the weapons causing a cut head, blurred vision and bruising to his shoulder. Sun was also struck.

The offences involving the Chinese students were deemed to be racist due to the ethnicity of the victims.

The prosecutor continued: "Murphy and Lawrie then approached the group swearing and shouting other aggressive words."

He was left scarred for life from the head wound. Lu and Li had lip injuries while Sun escaped being physically hurt.

Earlier that evening the pair had attacked their first victim.Jordan Dunsmore was chased before being pushed outside the Sir John Moore pub on Argyle Street.

He sustained a number of wounds to the head after he was punched and kicked before his attackers fled to nearby Hope Street.

The violence continued after the attack on the Chinese students, with Murphy attacking a stranger Damian Mannion near Buchanan Street as he walked to a bar with a friend.

Murphy kicked the man to the ground, then smashed a beer bottle over his head, the court heard.

Mannion ended up with a cut to his forehead.

A serious attack then took place on David Silver, from Aberdeen, who was pushed and tripped up as he tried to walk past the pair at Glasgow Central Station.

Murphy then kicked him as he lay on the ground.

The prosecutor said: "Murphy and Lawrie then repeatedly kicked and stamped on Silver's head and body while he lay motionless on the ground.

"Lawrie walked away. However, Murphy ran back and stamped again on Mr Silver."

The pair fled the scene and police found the victim covered with blood with a number of obvious injuries.

He had three broken ribs, fluid around the lungs, a suspected fractured nose and a "golf ball sized" swelling at his right eye, , the court was told.

In the final attack of the night hotel worker Kian O'Neil was approached near Central Station where Murphy demanded his phone and cigarettes.

O'Neill refused, but was then punched and had a glass bottle thrown at him, the court was told.

Murphy's lawyer Graham Macdonald said: "He knows that the reaction of the court will be one of horror and displeasure."

Allan MacLeod, who defended Lawrie, said he claimed to have "little recollection of these events".

Lord Cubie said such incidents would make people think "long and hard" about entering Glasgow City Centre.

He said: "Your offending was indiscriminate, presenting a substantial threat to public safety in an area already giving rise to concern because of the apparent prevalence of anti-social behaviour of exactly this type.

"This is the worst example I have encountered of sustained, wanton, violent and disruptive offending."

He added: "This seems to have been a decision to go on the rampage."

The judge said the sentence reflected the seriousness of the offending, the impact on the victims and the wider harm caused to society.

Both men will also be subject to a further two years of supervision following their release.