A SEX beast who burgled and repeatedly raped a woman in her own home has failed in a challenge to the length of his sentence.

Karl Dennis Vickers, 41, of York Close, Clayton-le-Moors, broke into the home of the woman as she slept in January 2007.

He raped his terrified victim twice, after warning her not to look at him, then locked her in a shed.

He was arrested after DNA evidence linked him to the crimes and jailed indefinitely for public protection (IPP) at Burnley Crown Court on March 13 last year, having pleaded guilty to two counts of rape, assault by penetration and burglary.

The sentence means Vickers will not be freed until the Parole Board is convinced he no longer poses a danger to society. He must serve a minimum of six years and three-and-a-half months before he can apply for parole.

London’s Criminal Appeal Court heard his appeal against that minimum term.

His lawyers argued he should have been given more credit for his guilty plea and that the judge had erred in placing the rapes in the most serious category.

Mrs Justice Sharp threw out the appeal, saying: “This appellant has no legitimate complaint about the discount that he received.”