Car thieves bash Melbourne father and son

Thieves have bashed a father and his son after they tried to stop them stealing a car from a Melbourne front yard.

The 23-year-old and 59-year-old Mount Waverley men are in hospital with head injuries.

The pair were inside a Mount Waverley house at 1.25am on Saturday when they noticed two people trying to break into a car.

They went out to confront them and followed them up the road, before being struck to the back of the head with a brick or rock.

One of the victims has a fractured eye socket.

The thieves escaped along Huntingdale Road.

The first offender was described as male, about 183cm tall, medium build, aged between 18 and 20 and wearing a red hoodie and dark pants.

The second offender was described as male, about 170cm tall, medium build, also aged between 18 and 20 and wearing a grey jumper and dark pants.