A career criminal who moved to Irvine in a bid to turn his life around has been caged after he and an accomplice stormed the home of a Scottish Government Minister's dad - and made off with his top-of-the-range car after battering him while armed with a hammer and a knife.

Stephen Dailly relocated to Irvine in November last year after getting released from a seven-year stretch for a robbery bid while armed with a knife.

But within three months Dailly, 43, was back behind bars after he and pal Anthony Cashmore, 36, went on a crime spree through the affluent Glasgow suburb of Newton Mearns.

Cashmore wielded a hammer when he stormed the man's four bedroom detached home.

Dailly 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 have-a-go hero leapt in to action after finding Cashmore in his hallway - and initially believing the ginger career criminal was one of his children. 

The man walked in to his hall and spotted Cashmore standing there.

But he quickly realised Cashmore, who has 51 previous convictions and has been locked up 28 times, was not his son and had to defend himself when the thug swung a hammer at his head.

He bravely managed to fight off Cashmore, 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 the man locked himself in his home and called the police.

Cashmore was on a Community Payback Order at the time, having been spared jail for handling stolen goods, while Dailly had only been free for three months after his High Court sentence had come to an end.

Dailly then led police on a high-speed chase in the homeowner'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.

But Dailly didn't get far as the police officers tailing him gave chase on foot, caught up with him and arrested him.

Cashmore was traced later and loot from their crime spree was found in his home.

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 caged 22 times, admitted their guilt over the February 2, 2018 offences during a pre-trial hearing at Paisley Sheriff Court last month.

Both men struck a deal with prosecutors which saw them pleading guilty to certain charges in exchange for others being dropped.

Dailly admitted stealing his brother's car, entering an insecure car in Newton Mearns and stealing a SatNav, iPod shuffle, a mirror, headphones, an earring, a watch, a bag full of clothes, CDs and cash from the vehcle.

He also admitted trying to break in to a garage nearby, driving dangerously, at speed, and crashing in to the wall after crashing in to another car, being in possession of a knife, being in possession of stolen goods by having the homeowner's car key, stealing his vehicle, driving it without insurance and driving it while disqualified.

Cashmore pleaded guilty to assaulting the Scottish Government Minister's father by brandishing a hammer at him, raining punches on his head and robbing him of his Jaguar.

Sheriff David Pender called for background reports to be prepared ahead of sentencing and both men returned to the dock at Paisley Sheriff Court  to be sentenced.

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 moved in with his girlfriend and stayed out of trouble.

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

He said Dailly had made "numerous, repeated and forceful attempts" to admit his guilt over the offences, which he knew he would be jailed for.

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.

And he said Cashmore's pleas of guilty had spared the family the "difficult ordeal" of reliving "a horrendous incident in their lives."

Sheriff David Pender ruled there was only one way he could deal with the pair, caging Cashmore for 42 months and jailing Dailly for 38 months and banning him from driving for 25 years.

He also made them the subject of year-long Supervised Release Orders, meaning they will be monitored in the community once released from custody, "to protect the public from serious harm."

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.