A BROADWAY man who mowed down a respected antiques dealer in a drink-driving accident has had his jail term almost halved.

Malcolm Keyte, 48, of Butchers Row, High Street, drove off "in a panic" after colliding with Peter Keil as he crossed High Street in November 2001 and causing him fatal spinal and chest injuries.

Keyte pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving having consumed excess alcohol and was jailed for three-and-a-half years at Worcester Crown Court last July.

But judges at the Criminal Court of Appeal ruled last week that the sentence was "manifestly excessive" and cut it to two years.

His barrister, Stephen Mooney, said after the hearing that Keyte, who has suffered post-traumatic stress and anxiety, could be released as early as May on the Home Office's tagging system.

Mr Justice Elias, sitting with Mr Justice Jackson, said Keyte had taken his eye off the road for a moment while he was changing the tape in his car stereo and that "moment of inattention" cost Mr Keil his life.

Keyte drove away but then stopped and rang emergency services and later admitted to police he had been drinking the previous day but thought he was safe to drive.

The court heard that tests showed he would have been just over the limit at the time of the accident but there had been nothing wrong with other aspects of his driving and he had not been breaking the speed limit.

The judges accepted that the case was "not as serious as many" because of circumstances, including that Keyte was "only marginally" over the limit.

Giving the court's decision, Mr Justice Elias said the remorse he showed, his guilty plea, the psychological impact on him and previous sentencing guidelines had all been taken into consideration.

He said: "What there was was this moment of inattention, which may or may not have been induced by excess alcohol."

He said it was "inevitable" that Keyte would go to jail but concluded: "A life was cut short. He will have to live with that."

Mr Keil, 69, who owned HW Keil antiques shop in Cheltenham, died a bachelor and left more than £4 million in his will.