A 'wicked' mother who allowed her partner to rape her own daughter has had her jail sentence almost doubled after an appeal against the sentencing judge's apparent lenient punishment was referred to the Solicitor General.

Mary-Louisa Andrews had been sent to prison for three years for allowing the sex abuse to continue but the Court of Appeal has increased the sentence to five years behind bars.

Andrews had been sentenced originally by Judge Francis Sheridan at Aylesbury Crown Court but prosecutors referred his decision to the Solicitor General suggesting should have been considerably more severe.

Mary-Louisa Andrews had been sent to prison for three years after she was convicted of allowing her husband Anoyke Andrews to rape her daughter over the course of six years. This sentence has now been increased to five years by the Court of Appeal

Anoyke Andrews had previously been jailed for 20 years by Judge Sheridan for raping and sexually assaulting the girl while she was aged between 10 and 16

Her husband, Anoyke Andrews, was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment by Judge Sheridan last May for raping his partner's daughter and is serving the sentence. The victim waived her right to anonymity so that her parents could be publicly exposed.

As Mary-Louisa Andrews burst into tears when she appeared via video link, sentencing judge Sheridan told her: 'The tears you shed are for yourself. I do not think any of them are for your daughter. I am not in any way influenced. You have not shown any sign of remorse.

'It is time somebody told you to your face - and I will: You were a wicked mother. When your daughter complained, her complaints were dismissed. You will take that dismissal to the grave. You betrayed your daughter to stand by your husband.

'She has gone through what can only be described as a life of hell. There must have been times in her young life where there appeared to be almost no remission from abuse.'

Anoyke Andrews, of Graveney Place, Milton Keynes, began sexually assaulting his victim when she was aged 10 years while they were on holiday in Southport and then continuously raped and sexually assaulted his victim in her own home until she was 16 years old.

The Court of Appeal, pictured, ruled that Andrews' three-year sentence for causing cruelty to a person under the age of 16 years was too lenient. Investigating officer, Detective Constable Tejinder Sidhu, said: 'We welcome the decision of the Solicitor General to increase the sentence of Mary-Louisa Andrews. 'This was a horrific case of abuse in that the person who should have protected the victim, her mother, failed to do so and let the abuse go on'

The girl's mother was convicted of causing cruelty to a person under the age of 16 years.

A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said that Mary-Louisa Andrews was initially sentenced at Aylesbury Crown Court on May 28 to three years' imprisonment.

Judge Francis Sheridan jailed Mary-Louisa Andrews for three years which was increased to five years by the Court of Appeal

'Following a review at the Court of Appeal by the Solicitor General yesterday the sentence was increased to five years' imprisonment,' said the spokesman.

'Mary-Louisa Andrews was convicted for not protecting her daughter against her partner Anokye Andrews, aged 44 years, who was convicted at the same trial by unanimous jury of six counts of rape, two counts of indecent assault and one count of assault by penetration.

'The convictions relate to the abuse of Mary-Louisa's daughter between 2001 and 2007, who was aged between nine and 16 years.

'In this case the victim has waived her right to anonymity, allowing us to name the offenders. However, she has asked that she is not named directly and has indicated that she does not wish to speak to the media.'

Investigating officer, Detective Constable Tejinder Sidhu, said: 'We welcome the decision of the Solicitor General to increase the sentence of Mary-Louisa Andrews.

'This was a horrific case of abuse in that the person who should have protected the victim, her mother, failed to do so and let the abuse go on.

'Thames Valley Police is committed to investigate sexual abuse and I hope that this case demonstrates that you will always be listened to by officers, who will investigate with sensitivity in order to bring offenders before the courts and bring them to justice.'