Two drunk soldiers threw sandbags off a bridge down to a street below as people left clubs at closing time.

Karl Wainwright, 26, of The Black Watch, and Ben Peters, 22, of the Royal Dragoon Guards, were celebrating the end of a training course in Edinburgh when they decided on the prank on George IV Bridge at 3am on January 21 last year.

CCTV footage showed Wainwright and Peters taking a cursory glance over the bridge, collecting the sandbags from the road and hurling them over without looking to see if there was any one there.

The area contains a number of clubs which would have been closing at the time, with customers spilling out on to the street.

The men previously admitted throwing the sandbags, with sentencing had been deferred for background reports.

Sheriff Kenneth Maciver QC told the men following their guilty plea: "Unfortunately this is not an uncommon occurrence. In fact, too many people throw things over this bridge.

"A few years ago a young woman was seriously injured. It is a highly dangerous activity. It is absolutely obvious you could not predict where the sandbags would land."

Wainwright's solicitor, Mark Hutchison, told Sheriff Maciver there had been four men on a night out after completing a training course and they had drunk too much.

"It was an isolated incident of extreme stupidity", he said.

Charles Morrison, appearing for Peters, also described his client's actions as "extremely stupid and dangerous".

The court heard both men were regretful for their actions.

Sentencing the men on Thursday at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, Sheriff Maciver told them: "It is extremely disappointing to see two members of our Armed Forces here in court, facing a custodial sentence, for what I describe as stupid and dangerous behaviour in the city centre of Edinburgh when you were both extremely drunk.

"It simply does not bear thinking about what that could do to someone if it had landed on their heads".

He added in different circumstances he would have imposed a custodial sentence but as neither man had any previous convictions and had good reports from their regiments he would not.

The sheriff told the men: "I have to ensure that you are adequately punished by setting a high fine. It will be a fine which will cause you some difficulties to meet, but that is not accidental".

Wainwright and Peters were each fined £2400.