Man jailed for battering burglar loses court fight

The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, sitting at the Court of Appeal in London with two other judges, rejected an application for leave to appeal by 53-year-old Munir Hussain, of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, who was jailed for 30 months in December.

They also dismissed the same application by his brother Tokeer Hussain, 35, who was sentenced to 39 months.

Lord Judge, Mrs Justice Swift and Mr Justice Sweeney later heard submissions on behalf of both men in a bid to win sentence reductions. They will give their ruling on the sentence appeals today.

Munir Hussain and his wife and children returned from their local mosque during Ramadan to find intruders wearing balaclavas in their home.

He feared for their lives as their hands were tied behind their backs and they were forced to crawl from room to room.

The businessman made his escape after throwing a coffee table and enlisted his brother Tokeer in chasing the offenders down the street in High Wycombe, bringing one of them to the ground.

What followed was described at Reading Crown Court as self-defence that went too far, leaving intruder Walid Salem with a permanent brain injury after he was struck so hard with a cricket bat it broke into three pieces.

The brothers, described as family men at the heart of the local community, were found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

Trial judge John Reddihough said Munir Hussain's family had been subject to a "serious and wicked offence", but that he had carried out a "dreadful, violent attack" on Salem as he lay defenceless.

Their barristers argued that the sentences should be reduced in the "exceptional circumstances".