TWO career criminals have been jailed for storming the home of Humza Yousaf's dad and battering him while armed with a hammer and a knife.

Anthony Cashmore, 36, wielded a hammer when he stormed Muzaffar Yousaf's four bedroom detached home in Newton Mearns.

Accomplice Stephen Dailly, 43, was armed with a knife when got the keys for the 63-year-old's luxury Jaguar, which sports a personal registration plate, and sped off in the vehicle.

The Justice Minister's father had just finished his morning prayers when he walked in to his hall and spotted Cashmore standing there.

Cashmore, who has 51 previous convictions and has been locked up 28 times, swung a hammer at his head.

Mr Yousaf bravely managed to fight him off, forcing him out in to the garden, where Cashmore rained punches on his head.

Cashmore sped off in another Jaguar, that Dailly had stolen from his own brother earlier, and Yousaf locked himself in his home and called the police.

Dailly then led police on a high-speed chase in Mr Yousaf's car, during which he hit another car and blew one of the tyres after hitting the kerb - before jumping from the moving vehicle at speed and making off on foot.

Cashmore, who once received a 54-month sentence at the high court for assault and robbery with a knife, and Dailly, who has 33 previous convictions and has been jailed 22 times, admitted their guilt over the February 2, 2018 offences during a pre-trial hearing at Paisley Sheriff Court last month.

Defence solicitor Terry Gallanagh said Dailly had been invited out on a "thieving expedition" by Cashmore and had taken his brother's car to get there.

He said Dailly had been released in November last year from a seven-year sentence imposed at the High Court and had moved to Irvine where he stayed out of trouble.

But he said he fell back in to his old ways after moving back to East Renfrewshire following the death of his gran.

Defence solicitor James Arrol said Cashmore was a vulnerable individual, who was often taken advantage of, who was of low intelligence, had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and who would benefit from supervision in the community.

Sheriff David Pender jailed Cashmore for 42 months and jailing Dailly for 38 months and banning him from driving for 25 years.

The Scottish National Party did not respond to requests for comment on the case involving their MSP's father, while the Scottish Government refused to comment.

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