Two brothers who attacked an off-duty policeman in Harpenden late at night have been given suspended prison sentences.

Daniel and George Rolfe were told they would have to pay their victim compensation and carry out unpaid work.

The pair were found guilty by a jury at St Albans crown court last month of assaulting Hertfordshire police constable, Chris Kouwenberg.

On Monday they returned to court to be sentenced.

The brothers, from Cravells Road in Harpenden, had pleaded not guilty to the offence.

During the three day trial the jury were told the assault on the officer took place in the early hours of Sunday, June 10, 2012.

He and his girlfriend Sally Muntaine, who is also a serving Herts police officer, had been to a charity event earlier that evening at the Herts Show Ground in Redbourn.

At the end of the night a friend dropped them off in Harpenden close to the railway station so that they could catch a train back to their home in Luton.

They got out of the car on the A1081 by the green which is bordered by Southdown Road on the other side.

It's there they came across the brothers, who had been out since the Saturday afternoon drinking and watching a televised rugby match.

Chris said as he got a picnic hamper out of the car, his girlfriend began walking, but he realised she was heading in the wrong direction - back towards St Albans.

He said by the time he caught up with her she was standing by the brothers.

"I reached them and I may have said some sort of general greeting like "You alright guys" said Mr Kouwenberg.

He said that Daniel Rolfe was "challenging" in his manner, asking him where he had been and where he was from.

Mr Kouwenberg said Daniel Rolfe was becoming more and more intimidating and was being encouraged by his brother.

He said: "I was becoming concerned. I just wanted to get home and get my girlfriend safely home."

The officer said Daniel told him: "No, you are not going anywhere!"

He said hoping to diffuse the situation he then told them: "Look I am a copper, just leave it out, you go your way and we will go ours."

But with that he said he was pushed by Daniel.

He said moments later he felt a blow to the back of his head.

Mr Kouwenberg said Daniel Rolfe then came at him throwing punches and he found himself grappling with him.

"I was then knocked to the floor" adding "I then went to get back up and I felt an almighty smack to the right side of my cheek. That was the other guy, George, he just hit me as hard as he could - it hurt."

He said as blows reigned down on him he curled up in a foetal position trying to protect himself.

"I was getting blow after blow after blow after blow. It felt like dozens of blows. At this time they were like animals swearing and shouting." He said he heard one say "Kick his f...... head in."

He went on "Sally was screaming 'Get off him, get off him. Leave him alone!' I recall a comment 'It's alright we don't hit girls.' It was the larger of the two - George."

PC Kouwenberg said his head was being held down during the attack and he added "I took the opportunity to bite him on the finger. At that point there was nothing else I could do to defend myself."

At some point during the attack he'd managed to dial the police but hadn't been able to talk down the phone.

He said when the attack finished and the brothers began to move off he realised his phone was missing.

"I shouted out 'Oi, give me back my phone or you are going to get nicked for robbery."

With that he said one of the brothers then threw his phone onto a grassy area.

Mr Kouwenberg said having retrieved his phone he followed the pair across the green to Southdown Road where he saw them get into a taxi.

At the same time he said he had made contact with police control and was giving his colleagues information.

He said when the taxi moved off with the brothers on the back seat he was able to pass on the vehicle's reg number and the direction it was heading.

A short while later police stopped the taxi and the brothers were arrested.

In court both claimed Mr Kouwenberg had been the aggressor that night and they had merely defended themselves.

The jury heard Mr Kouwenberg suffered grazing and bruises all over his head, face and body, as well as cuts and bruises to his legs.

Back in September, at the end of the brothers' trial, sentence on them had been put back for the preparation of reports.

Twenty six year old Daniel Rolfe was given a six month prison sentence suspended for two years and his 21 year old brother George received an eight month jail sentence, which was also suspended for two years.

Both men were ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and each was told he must pay £300 compensation to the officer.

They were both ordered to pay prosecution costs of £300.