THE residents of communities in Worcestershire, and beyond, owe a debt to Judge Michael Mott, today, for jailing Peter Beckford for 20 years for the rape of a young shop assistant during a raid.

There are few things more bewildering than reading that someone like Beckford has been given a sentence more in keeping with a burglary than the crime in question.

You may not need a long memory to recall the five-year sentence handed down in 1996 to Colin Tipping, the Worcester man convicted of killing his wife Louisa.

Likewise, you might quickly remember Kenneth Price, who was given three years for the manslaughter of his wife, Sandra, the same year.

Both cases sparked protests across the Faithful City from family, friends and neighbours who wanted the sentences increased.

The outrage on Ronkswood over Tipping was so great that residents lobbied for him to be banned from ever setting foot on the estate again.

We considered at the time that, while an independent judiciary is vital for a healthy democracy, it's also a duty of judges to make the punishment fit the crime. We still think the same way. Who wouldn't?

Violence against women is so obviously a scourge on our society, and three or five years for killing another human being seems to be no justice for either victim or the community.

Though Peter Beckford didn't kill his victim, the principle is the same.

The facts detailed on Page 3 today make that emphatically clear to anyone who cares to dwell on the horror of his attack. What he did doesn't bear thinking about.

In another court, on another day, perhaps he'd have been given 10 years, less time spent on remand and for behaving himself.

Thanks to Judge Mott, however, Beckford won't be out for at least 20 years. That's why he has our gratitude.