A man convicted of three breaking and entering offences had his five-year jail sentence reduced by a year by the Court of Appeal yesterday.

Shayne Smith, 41, of Pembroke, was handed the sentence on June 2 this year, having pleaded guilty to the offences.

His representative, Elizabeth Christopher, argued that his offences were "not of the more serious nature," and asked the appeal judges to change his sentence to one that better allowed Smith to tackle his drug addiction.

She said that a sentence of two years in prison, followed by a period of probation of up to three years including a residential drug treatment programme, would be more appropriate.

The original five-year jail term had been imposed to run consecutive to a 12-month period of imprisonment Smith had previously been handed for a separate offence.

Ms Christopher asked that any new sentence should run concurrently.

However, Crown counsel Anthony Blackman questioned whether Smith would comply with a probation order and said the original sentence was appropriate.

Justices Sir Anthony Evans, Austin Ward and Charles Mantell allowed the appeal in part, reducing the sentence to one of four years.

This, said Justice Evans, would be effective as from the original sentencing date of June 2 and would run concurrently with the prior 12-month sentence.

The court's reasons, would, he added, be handed down at a later date.