A hammer-wielding house raider has lost his appeal against his 13-year prison sentence for terrorising a family and leading police on a dangerous high-speed car chase.

Raymond Neil Harris, 30, of Fossway, York, broke into a house in Clifton with an accomplice who was carrying a knife. Both were high on drugs and alcohol at the time.

They fought with the house's occupant and Harris hit him with the hammer. When his six-year-old son woke, the pair threatened to harm the child before taking his car. Harris then led police on a high-speed chase before crashing, and both raiders were arrested.

Dismissing his appeal, Mr Justice Cooke, sitting with two colleagues at the Court of Appeal, said 13 years was "not manifestly excessive", given the fact he had been the 'prime mover' in the raid, was older than the accomplice and had an 'appalling' criminal record..

Harris denied aggravated burglary and actual bodily harm but was convicted by a York judge. He admitted aggravated car snatching.

He had several previous convictions including a similar conviction for which he had been given a four-and-a-half-year prison sentence.