A GULF War veteran who killed his friend by injecting him with heroin has failed in an Appeal Court bid to have his three-year jail term cut.

Paul Eeles, 31, of Ayrsome Grange Road, Middlesbrough, was jailed in July after pleading guilty to the manslaughter of 40-year-old Gerrard Walker, who he had injected with the drug at his own request.

Lord Justice Pill, sitting with Mr Justice Gray at London's Appeal Court, upheld the sentence - dismissing arguments it was "manifestly excessive".

Lawyers acting for Eeles argued that the sentence was too long in view of his attempts to save his friend, and pointed to the fact Eeles' experiences in the first Gulf War had had a profound impact on him.

Psychiatric reports carried out on Eeles revealed he had been deeply affected by what had happened.

However, refusing to cut the jail term, Lord Justice Pill said he was not persuaded that the sentence was too long, saying it was consistent with prison terms imposed in other cases of its kind.