IT is painful to accept in our so-called civilised society that there are men whose idea of a good night out is plenty of booze, possibly drugs and certainly violence.

In fact, their pre-requisite for a good night out needs to include attacking someone weaker and more vulnerable, and, for good measure, recording the occasion on a mobile phone.

That is certainly the impression given from the sickening trial of the two Bolton men who kicked 28-year-old Asaf Ahmed to death simply because they could. They had previously unsuccessfully tried to attack a bigger man, but he fought them off, so they sought easier prey.

Stoked up on super-strength lager, Jason Bolton, aged 18, and Andrew Smith, just 15 at the time, punched, kicked, stamped and jumped on their helpless victim in a frenzied attack. Bolton even returned for another attack.

Within an hour of this happening, Smith was filming himself on his mobile phone saying in a dramatic voice the words “eyes of a killer”.

The police are probably well used to the phrase “out for trouble”, but it may come as a shock to the rest of us to realise that, while we may include a nice meal and good company in our idea of an enjoyable evening out, other people’s definition is more evil and savage.

Violence is bred by ignorance and frustration — often with pointless lives and a lack of achievement a background. Emotions are brutalised to the point where casual cruelty is the norm, then the flashpoint can be anything — a word, a gesture, or just the decision to give vent to their feelings on the next person they meet.

It is all down to a lack of respect, for other people, for society’s law and, most of all, for themselves. It takes self-discipline to work hard and achieve, and to keep a reign on emotions and the way they govern actions.

Bolton and Smith now have a long time to consider the results of this particular “good night out”. Sadly, Mr Ahmed’s family have a lifetime.