A DRUG dealer from Newcastle has had his jail term cut by judges - who said he had a "legitimate grievance".

Michael Pyle, 33, was at the centre of a 19-strong network of dealers operating out of Newcastle's West End during 2003.

Pyle, of Portland Street was jailed for six years after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs, at Newcastle Crown Court on December 17 last year.

Mr Justice Goldring, sitting with Sir Douglas Brown at London's Criminal Appeal Court, cut that to five years, after hearing that he had been sentenced on the basis of information from one of his co-accused, which could not be corroborated.

The judge told the court that the sentencing judge had given him a six-year term on the basis of the account of his accused co-dealer girlfriend, Joanne Rich-ards, who told police that they supplied 50 users a day. Pyle said it was between 20 and 30, but Richards later absconded while on bail, so her story could not be confirmed.

"The judge was wrong to pass a sentence based on the statement of another co-accused who was not present," said Mr Justice Goldring. "On the face of it, a six-year sentence for being at the centre of the conspiracy is not too long. But this appellant has a legitimate grievance based on the way he was sentenced. We quash the sentence of six years and impose one of five years in its stead," the judge concluded.