AN armed robber who was jailed for eight and a half years has had his sentence increased after the Court of Appeal agreed it was too lenient.

David Berry, 32, was involved in a series of early morning attacks on hotels in Bradford and Halifax between December 29, 2016 and January 9, 2017.

Bradford Crown Court heard how night porters working alone at the Guide Post Hotel in Low Moor, Bradford and the Shibden Mill Inn in Halifax were subjected to terrifying ordeals after masked intruders forced their way into the premises via the fire doors.

On January 2 a porter at the Shibden Mill Inn was beaten up and stabbed multiple times in the buttocks.

During a raid on the Guide Post Hotel in the early hours of New Year's Eve 2016, a member of staff was threatened with a hammer and forced to hand over the keys to a safe.

Berry was found guilty of two charges of robbery after a trial in September.

He also admitted to being involved in a house burglary in Halifax and another incident in which he dragged a delivery driver from his van and drove off in the vehicle.

He was orginally jailed for eight and a half years by a judge at Bradford Crown Court but Solicitor General Robert Buckland QC MP referred the case to the Court of Appeal, saying it was an "unduly lenient" punishment.

Berry's sentence has now been increased and he will spend 15 years behind bars.

Speaking after the hearing, the Solicitor General said: “These were planned robberies, involving weapons, which left a trail of destruction - including damage to two police vehicles.

"The original sentence failed to take proper account of the seriousness of the offences and I am pleased the court has now seen fit to increase the prison term.”