A serial rapist has failed in his bid to sue prison bosses for refusing to let him have a penpal.

Former disc jockey Richard Baker was given four life sentences in 1999 for a string of rapes and sex attacks across the South-East.

His victims included an 18-year-old Brighton woman who was attacked when he dragged her into an alleyway off Sutherland Road as she was on her way home from a night out.

Baker, 39, wanted to advertise on a web site set up to find penfriends for prisoners.

Governors at Wakefield prison refused but Baker claimed the ban infringed his human rights. He told the High Court via a video link that the decision violated his right to a private life.