A BID to extend the sentence of a burglar who left a housesitter with a broken jaw has been turned down.

Kevin Selby was jailed for ten years at Chelmsford Crown Court in April for the attack in Station Road, Wivenhoe.

He and two others had knocked at the door before bursting in and smashing the man - who was only house sitting the property - with a baseball bat.

The gang then stole a safe containing £1,700, a laptop and a hard drive which linked to the property’s security system.

Selby, 32, had denied aggravated burglary but was convicted after a trial and jailed.

He later admitted he had been involved in the break-in.

An appeal was launched to review his ten-year jail term by a member of the public under the unduly lenient sentence scheme.

The Government initiative allows people to raise concerns about punishments handed out to offenders convicted of certain offences - including serious violence.

Only one person needs to lodge an application to the scheme in order for the sentence to be considered.

However, after being considered by the Attorney General's office, it has been found that although the crime was eligible for a review, the sentence has been deemed fair.

Selby, of no fixed address, has a string of previous convictions and is also serving a 50 month sentence for slashing someone in Ferdinand Walk, Colchester, with a Stanley knife.

His latest jail term will only begin when that ends.

The victim in the Wivenhoe raid was also punched and kicked before fleeing through a window.

Sentencing Selby, Judge Christopher Morgan said Selby's had admitted what happened too late in the day.

He said: “You have only belatedly accepted your part in this shocking episode of violence.

“The admissions have come far too late.

“The premises was targeted because you knew the safe was upstairs.

“At one stage one of your number attacked him with a baseball bat. I cannot say for certain whether it was you but you were a part of it.”