A BOOZE thief who was jailed after twice being caught stealing lager from an Andover store has had his sentence slashed by top judges.

Reece Michael King, 23, of Hackwood Close, preyed on the town's Tesco Express, in Compton Square, during the summer.

He was twice seen walking out of the shop without paying for his cans, assaulting the store manager on the second occasion as staff waited for police to arrive.

King was jailed for nine months at Winchester Crown Court back in August for two thefts, assault by beating, failing to answer bail and breaching a suspended sentence.

But now two senior judges at the Court of Appeal in London have cut his sentence to six months, after ruling that the original prison termwas too tough.

The court heard how King targeted the same store on both occasions, first taking cans of Fosters before returning to steal a case of Carling.

When he was interviewed by detectives, King admitted he had an alcohol problem and that he had deliberately gone to the store to steal lager.

His lawyers argued before Mr Justice Irwin and Mr Justice Turner that the total sentence was “manifestly excessive.”

Mr Justice Turner said the relatively low level of the offending was crucial in the decision to slash his sentence.