Men appear in court in Londonderry after hammer attack
Two men have appeared at Londonderry Magistrates Court on a number of charges including grievous bodily harm with intent.
It follows a hammer attack on a man in the city on Saturday.
Andrew Bone, 26, from Shearwater Way in Derry and Paul McGarrigle, aged 41, from Gloucester Avenue in the city, were remanded in custody until next month.
The court heard that the victim of the hammer attack remains in hospital.
He was assaulted after three men entered a house in Ebrington Street on Saturday.
At the hearing, police said they believed the attack was sectarian and the victim needed seven staples to the back of his head.
Police told the court that they were called to a house party in Ebrington Street at about 02:15 GMT on Saturday.
A police spokesperson said windows were broken and doors were "put in" at the property.
Police said that when they arrived at the scene the victim was lying unconscious on the floor with a pool of blood around his head.
They also said that the victim had claimed he was attacked with a hammer and a bat.
A solicitor for the defendants said no hammer had been recovered from the house on Ebrington Street, but that questioning was ongoing.
He said: "A lot of alcohol was consumed by both men on the night but may I remind you that no hammer was recovered yet."
A police spokesperson said that no hammer was recovered, but that interviews led them to believe a hammer was used.
Mr Bone and Mr McGarrigle were charged with a number of offences including grievous bodily harm with intent and having an offensive weapon.
The two men were remanded in custody and will appear again via video link on 10 January.