A sentence imposed on a man who raped a middle-aged woman in her home was reduced by Appeal Court judges yesterday.

On the night of the attack last year, Ian Edward Cavanagh's victim woke to find him sitting on her bed, after which he raped her, said Mr Justice McCombe.

Her ordeal ended when she escaped from her bedroom and persuaded him to leave.

Five months later, the traumatised woman said she still suffered nightmares, the judge said.

Cavanagh, now 20, of Strawberry Dale Avenue, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, admitted rape when he appeared at York Crown Court on October 22 last year. He was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in a young offenders' institution.

Appeal Court judges reduced the sentence to six years because they said his term was too high when compared with guideline cases.

Mr Justice McCombe, sitting with Judge Peter Beaumont, said Cavanagh was a drug user with heterosexual and homosexual feelings.

He admitted exposing himself while wearing women's clothing and felt "disgusted and remorseful".

The judge said pre-sentence reports concluded that Cavanagh was a significant risk to himself and the public, particularly vulnerable women.

But Mr Justice McCombe said that guidelines showed his jail term was too long. Allowing Cavanagh's appeal did not mean the court was minimising the seriousness of the offence, he said.