A SPA man who burst into another's home and subjected him a to "sustained and degrading attack" has failed an Appeal Court bid to win a cut in his sentence.

Home Secretary David Blunkett sat alongside three Appeal Court judges on Monday as they refused to cut the man's sentence for robbery, false imprisonment and intimidating a witness.

The minister remained an impassive observer as the court heard the case of 31-year-old Mohammed Murtaza, of Farriers Corner. Murtaza was jailed for nine years at Worcester Crown Court in May after he was found guilty.

Mr Justice Silber, sitting with the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Woolf, and Mrs Justice Cox at London's Court of Appeal, dismissed argument that Murtaza's sentence was "manifestly excessive".

The judge said that Murtaza and his four accomplices had knocked on the door of their victim's home on the evening of August 17, last year when an argument broke out about some "pills" the householder had sold to a mutual friend earlier that year.

The men eventually went away but returned at 9.30am the next day when they barged their way into the flat and launched a "sustained and degrading attack" on their victim.

During the course of the incident, the victim was made to pick up a condom from the floor with his teeth and was bound using a telephone cord.

Police were eventually called to the address by a concerned neighbour, but no complaint was made. The attackers then made off with a host of electrical and personal goods from the victim's home.

A complaint was eventually made to the police by the victim, and two weeks later a witness was intimidated by Murtaza, who telephoned him, telling him to "watch his ******* back".

Dismissing the appeal, Mr Justice Silber said: "In our view, there can be no legitimate grounds for saying this sentence was manifestly excessive."