'Dangerous rapist' has sentence increased

THE prison sentence of a dangerous rapist who attacked two women within hours of each other has been extended by five years.

- By POPPY KENNEDY

Haider Ali was handed a total sentence of 12 years after a jury found him guilty of three counts of rape, on two different women.

The dangerous offender, 31, broke down in tears on video link from Holme House Prison and repeatedly told the judge he was innocent when he was sentenced earlier this year.

Now, after a hearing at London's Court of Appeal, his sentence was extended by five years following an intervention under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme by the Solicitor General Lucy Rigby KC MP.

Teesside Crown Court heard previously how Ali finished a shift at his brother's pizza takeaway and then went to Yarm Road in Stockton.