A MAN who was caught as he travelled back to Glasgow from a cocaine dealing expedition to Abergavenny today saw his sentence slashed by top judges.

Anthony Morrison Moran, 33, of no fixed address, had more than a kilo of the drug on him when he was pulled off a train at Crewe last August.

A drug addict himself, Moran later said he had been to Abergavenny with a bag full of cash with which to buy drugs for his own dealers.

He admitted possession of the drugs with intent to supply and was jailed for eight years at Chester Crown Court a month later.

Today, three senior judges at the Court of Appeal in London said the sentence was too harsh and slashed it to six years.

Mr Justice Males said: 'There was some personal mitigation, some remorse and some demonstration of steps to address his addiction.'

The court heard police had received information that someone on the train was carrying drugs and were waiting at Crewe.

Moran matched the description and was stopped. In his bag, officers found a package of cocaine weighing more than a kilo.

The drugs had a wholesale value of up to £60,000, but could have gone for up to £240,000 if cut and sold on the streets.

Moran claimed he went on the trip in order to pay off a drug debt and was not expecting any further payment.

His lawyers argued that the eight-year sentence he received was too tough, because he was no more than a 'courier' of the drugs.

Giving judgment, the judge, sitting with Judge Simon Bourne-Arton QC and Lord Justice Pitchford, said it was clear that Moran played a 'significant role'.

'He was, in our judgment, not just a courier,' he said.

'He was a man who knew what he was doing and he must have had an understanding of the scale of the operation.

'He was trusted with a large sum of money and then with a large and valuable quantity of drugs.'

But, allowing the appeal, he said that, taking all of the circumstances and mitigation together, the sentence was too long and would be cut to six years.