Praise for raid terror family

The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, agreed with Attorney General Baroness Scotland that a non-custodial punishment originally handed to Anthony John Leonard, 35, from Brighton, was "unduly lenient".

Sitting at the Court of Appeal in London with two other judges, Lord Judge overturned a 24-month community order and replaced it with a four-year jail sentence.

Lord Judge then asked if the victim, mother-of-two Sarah Hackett, 45, also from Brighton, was in court. Ms Hackett and her older son Robert, 16, were told by the judge: "You were very brave that night.

"That must have been a very tough experience for you. I hope the boys are all right."

Leonard, who has "numerous" previous convictions, was originally sentenced at Lewes Crown Court in January after he admitted breaking into their home armed with a screwdriver.

He lunged Ms Hackett with the screwdriver, grabbed her round the throat and pushed her down some stairs. He also waved the screwdriver at Robert who thought it was a knife. Robert fought back with a dog lead and Leonard fled by jumping through a window.