A CRACK cocaine-fuelled thug who ‘destroyed’ a teenage girl’s life when he sexually assaulted and robbed her on a remote path has won a cut in his sentence.

Lee Anthony Haslam, 29, had downed 10 cans of cider and was high on drugs when he grabbed his 19-year-old victim, dragging down her pants before stealing her Christmas money.

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Haslam, of Burnley Road, Crawshawbooth, was jailed for six years and 36 weeks at Burnley Crown Court in May.

He admitted sexual assault, robbery and breach of a suspended sentence order.

But three senior judges at London's Appeal Court upheld a sentence challenge by Haslam, slashing more than eight months from his jail term.

Haslam was subject to a 36-week suspended sentence for an earlier burglary offence at the time but his barrister, Stuart Duke, argued successfully that the judge had erred in failing to make the 36-week sentence concurrent with the rest of his term. The total jail sentence was reduced to six years.