Wigan soldier's rape sentence cut

A Wigan soldier who tried to rape a teenager outside a nightclub has won a cut in his jail term at London's Court of Appeal.

Judges ruled Darren Leatham's sentence was "manifestly excessive" and reduced it by a year.

The 23-year-old was a member of the Irish Guards.

He was found guilty of attempted rape at Liverpool Crown Court in February this year and was jailed for five years.

The court heard Leatham, of Lowton Road, Golborne, met his victim, aged 18, at Barbarella's nightclub in Leigh, near Wigan, in late 2005.

DNA match

They bumped into each other outside the club in the early hours of the morning, and he dragged her down an alleyway and tried to rape her.

It was more than a year before Leatham was caught, and then he was only caught by chance.

Stopped at London's Waterloo railway station on an unrelated matter, a sample of his DNA was taken and it was found to match that of semen taken from the girl he attacked.

The Judge said Leatham had received a jail term that was too long, in relation to sentences imposed in similar cases.