A DALMUIR man who tried to break into the home of a top Scottish trade union official has been jailed for more than two years.

Christopher Murray attempted to enter the home of the GMB union’s Scottish regional organiser, Ude-Joe Adigwe, last summer – and challenged Mr Adigwe to a fight in the street after he was chased away.

Murray committed the offence in the early hours of August 16 last year – and in doing so breached a curfew which banned him from leaving his bail address in West Court between 7pm and 7am each day.

Murray was sentenced at Dumbarton Sheriff Court on Friday after admitting charges of attempted housebreaking and breach of bail at an earlier hearing.

Murray was also found guilty, after a trial in February, of acting in a threatening or abusive manner in the incident, which happened in a residential street in Helensburgh.

Sentence was deferred until Friday after a report was sought on the terms of a supervised release order to take effect once Murray is released from prison.

Murray is currently serving a prison sentence on an unrelated matter and isn’t due for release until July 2.

But Sheriff William Gallacher imposed a 27-month prison sentence on top of Murray’s current jail term – and told the 21-year-old that he’ll be supervised for a further 12 months after he’s eventually set free.

Murray’s solicitor, Elaine Rae, told Sheriff Gallacher her client had been affected by the death of his brother, apparently from drug misuse.

Ms Rae said: “He is acutely aware that you are almost inevitably going to impose a consecutive sentence to the one he’s currently serving.

“A period of supervision upon release will no doubt be appropriate to reduce his risk of reoffending.

“He is someone who could make something of his life. He is not unintelligent and he is not inarticulate.

“If he changes the people he hangs around with, he does not have to have a life in prison.”

A further charge against Murray, alleging that he was in possession of a knife in the course of last August’s incident was found not proven by a jury of 11 women and four men after February’s trial.

Giving evidence at the trial, Mr Adigwe had said he found Murray and another person attempting to open the front window of his home at 6.30am, and that Murray had come back, shouting and screaming and waving a weapon, after he chased the pair off.

Mr Adigwe said in evidence that the weapon was a knife, but after his wife told the trial she had seen Murray with “something metal or wood” in his hand, the weapon charge was found not proven.

At Friday’s sentencing hearing, Sheriff Gallacher told Murray: “You have a simply dreadful criminal record. You disregard other people’s property almost routinely.

“You disregard other people’s safety and you disregard orders of the court almost without exception.”

Imposing consecutive sentences of 14 months, seven months and six months for the housebreaking, threatening behaviour and bail breach, the sheriff added: “I think these matters are entirely separate.

“You ought not to have been anywhere near Helensburgh.

“You ought not to have then tried to break into somebody’s house, and you ought not to have then challenged the householder to fight.”