A DRUG addict who was part of a heroin supply network in a North town has won a cut to his "manifestly excessive" jail term.

Appeal Court judges took 18 months off Jonathan Allen Chadwick's four-year sentence after they ruled he deserved the cut because his main involvement was only to feed his addiction.

The cut means that Chadwick, 28, of Regent Street, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, will only serve 15 months of his sentence, according to his barrister, John King.

Chadwick received his four-year sentence at Leeds Crown Court on May 28 last year after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply the drug.

Mr Justice Poole, who was sitting in London with Lord Justice Clarke and Mr Justice Elias, said Chadwick, along with others, was part of a team working the streets of Harrogate, using telephone boxes to communicate.

Police acting on a tip-off began surveillance in July 2003, and Chadwick was arrested later that month.

Mr Justice Poole described Chadwick as a first lieutenant who had taken part in a well-organised operation and knew the hold that heroin had on people.

The judge also said the court took into consideration that Chadwick was a first-time offender who had immediately taken steps after his arrest to beat his addiction.

He said Chadwick had only committed the crime to feed his habit.