An Exeter burglar whose crime had a 'devastating' impact on a vulnerable victim deserved every day of his prison sentence, top judges have ruled.

Drug addict Gary Butler, of Alphington Road, was locked up for 18 months at Exeter Crown Court on November 24 last year after being convicted of the raid.

The 46-year-old was on bail for driving offences when he intruded into a flat in Old Tiverton Road, Exeter, on June 6 last year.

A female companion smashed the front window of the property with a crutch, Mr Justice Sweeney told London's Appeal Court today.

The occupier came to the door and Butler forced his way inside, putting his arm around the terrified man's neck.

Butler carried out a '40-second ransacking' of the flat before leaving empty-handed, the court heard.

Butler went to Evans' home in Old Tiverton Road, Exeter, because he thought he could buy cannabis there but it was a case of mistaken identity. Mr Evans had nothing to do with drugs, although a previous occupant had done.

Butler and a woman who was with him searched the house after Mr Evans fled and then ran off empty handed. The raid was captured on CCTV which showed the pair going to and leaving the downstairs doorway.

The victim, who already suffered from anxiety and depression, managed to get away and run into he street.

He now lives in fear of opening the door to anyone and does not feel safe in his own home, said the judge.

Butler had 21 convictions, for 41 crimes, on his record, including two commercial burglaries, battery, fraud, theft and criminal damage.

The judge who jailed him took into account the 'devastating impact' the raid had on the traumatised victim.

The judge told him: "It is perfectly clear you were at this address in order to buy drugs, as you had done on a previous occasion. You treated the jury to an utterly fanciful explanation of why you had gone to the front door.

"You said you had seen a key left in the door and wanted to tell the occupant about it. It was clear from the CCTV that you went there without any hesitation. It is plain you were there to buy drugs.

"The first Mr Evans knew about it was when the window was smashed and you tried to barge in. He was extremely frightened. He suffers from anxiety and depression. He went up onto the street in a hysterical state.

"This case has had a big impact on him. He has been in hospital and is frightened to open his door to anybody. That illustrates the gravity of this case."

But Butler's lawyers argued that his sentence was far too tough and should be reduced.

It was an 'opportunistic' offence with 'little or no planning', they argued, and his first domestic burglary.

Butler was 'battling, already successfully, a class A drug addiction,' the court was told.

But Mr Justice Sweeney, sitting with Judge Neil Bidder QC, concluded: "The sentence imposed was, we conclude, entirely justified.

"This appeal is dismissed."