Steven Joyce 73

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Steven Joyce preyed on four vulnerable boys when he should have been looking after them

A twisted pensioner who serially abused boys at a north Devon boarding school in the 1980s had his too soft sentence doubled by senior judges today.

Steven John Joyce, 66, preyed on four vulnerable schoolboys when he should have been guarding their welfare, London's Appeal Court heard.

He cynically groomed the youngsters by giving them sweets and chocolate eggs, and encouraged them to think of him as a father figure.

Joyce's job at the school was to act as "house-parent" with special responsibility for the pupils' pastoral care.

One victim claimed Joyce had "ruined his life", Lord Justice Davis told the court.

Another told how Joyce regularly took him out of his dormitory at night to abuse him.

Joyce, of Erme Drive in Ivybridge, faced investigations in 1991 and 2011, but it was only in May last year that he was finally brought to book.

He was handed a sentence of seven years and two months after admitting a string of sex crimes - including 11 indecent assaults and two attempts at buggery.

But his case reached the Appeal Courtas lawyers for the Solicitor General, Robert Buckland QC, called for a much tougher sentence.

Lord Justice Davis ruled that the sentence was "far, far too low" - and doubled it to 14 years and four months.

Joyce's own lawyers conceded that his sentence was "low", but insisted it was "not unduly lenient".

Lord Justice Davis, sitting with Mr Justice Stuart-Smith and Mr Justice Soole, took account of Joyce's age and poor health.

But he ruled: "With all due respect to the judge, we have no doubt at all that this sentence was unduly lenient."