A jail sentence has been upheld for a man who beat up and robbed a gay man in a park in Nottingham.

Andrew Mark Perry was last November jailed for nine years for the attack.

A jury convicted him of unlawful wounding and robbery.

The 43-year-old was one of two masked men who attacked their victim in the Broxtowe park back in November 2015, as he tried to meet a man he had come in contact with using Grindr.

London’s Appeal Court on Tuesday heard from Perry’s lawyers that they thought evidence used in the November trial was weak.

Perry had challenged the “safety” of his convictions, taking the case to the Appeal Court.

His lawyers had said that the evidence was only a “casual observation”.

“The victim met another man outside the park for a sexual encounter,” explained Judge Jeffrey Pegden QC.

“They had arranged to meet through Grindr and went into the woods where they were accosted by two masked men.”

Judge Pegden, alongside Lord Justice Lindblom and Mrs Justice Cheema-Grub, rejected the appeal.

“We have concluded there is nothing arguably unsafe about these convictions. The application must be refused,” he added.