A THUG who helped ambush a man on his way to work to steal £20 was jailed for 16 months.

James Corr, 22, and two unknown men pounced on Zenon Sergeil, 59, in Easterhouse in January.

The scared victim had his wallet taken with the Polish-national suffering several injuries including a fractured eye socket.

Corr pleaded guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court to the assault and robbery while on bail.

The court heard the victim was waiting on his daughter to take him to work at 5am when he was approached by the men. Mr Sergeil said he could not speak English but they demanded money and cigarettes from him.

Prosecutor Mark Allan said: “Corr then spat on his own hand and forced Mr Sergeil to shake it.”

Worried Mr Sergeil tried to escape, but was grabbed by Corr while the other two punched his face and body.

Corr rifled through the man’s pockets to find his wallet while his accomplices snatched keys.

Mr Allan added: “Mr Sergeil struggled and fell to the ground while Corr’s hand was still in his pocket.

“One male sat on top of him while the other male began kicking him to the face.”

Mr Sergeil again tried to get away, but one of the thugs smacked him with a vodka bottle.

Corr eventually got away with the victim’s wallet, which also had £20 inside.

Corr later used Mr Sergeil’s bank card to buy two items at £1 and £9 as well as attempting to get £50 in cash.

The dad ended up spending 12 days in hospital as a result of his ordeal.

Bob McDowell, defending Corr, said the dad-of-two was “extremely drunk” and is “totally ashamed.”

Sheriff Joan Kerr told Corr: “You assaulted a man who was simply on his was on his way to work and you stole items from him.

“He was brutally hurt as a result of blows to his head and it must have been a frightening experience for him.”