A BURGLARY victim who threatened a man with a toy gun has had his sentence cut by six months by the Criminal Appeal Court.

Stephen Marshall, 30, of High Street, Colney Heath, was jailed for two years after admitting possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence when he appeared at St Albans Crown Court.

Marshall, who had previously won an award after he helped catch a criminal, had his sentence cut from two years to 18 months by Mr Justice Moses, sitting with Judge Anne Goddard.

At the hearing on Monday the judge said Marshall believed the victim had been responsible for a burglary of his property that include a sporting gold medal.

'He armed himself with a plastic Beretta self-loading pistol. The pistol was a toy which had been in Marshall's possession for a number of years.'

The judge said Marshall went round to the victim's home and held the gun against his head and there was a struggle.

Marshall had wanted to frighten the victim so that he could get back his 'treasured items' that had been stolen, he added. The property stolen during the burglary included videos of sporting triumphs and a gold medal.

But the judge said: 'Children were asleep at the time Marshall arrived but he could not have known that fact.'

The judge concluded that Marshall had 'succumbed to a moment of madness'.

Marshall had received a special award as a result of information and action that led to a criminal being apprehended, he added.

Allowing the appeal, the judge said: 'The incident was wholly out of character. The sentence of two years was excessive.'