A paedophile jailed for raping a young girl will have to spend longer behind bars after his “unduly lenient” sentence was extended at the Court of Appeal.

Christopher Tucker, 71, of Bascraft Way, Godmanchester, had been jailed for 11 years in November last year when he appeared at Cambridge Crown Court and admitted two offences of rape.

But his case was referred to the Court of Appeal by solicitor general Robert Buckland who felt the sentence was insufficient and it was increased to 16 years.

Lawyers for Tucker, who has the mental age of an 11-year-old, argued that his learning disabilities justified a lower sentence.

However, the judge ruled that Tucker would have known he was doing wrong.

In November the court heard that the victim was under 13 when she was first attacked and that the assaults went on for more than 10 years before the girl went to the police in 2016.