A BLACKBURN man who brought shame on his family by supplying ecstasy to friends has had his sentence cut in London's Appeal Court.

Zaheer Dassu, of East Park Avenue, received a four-year sentence at Preston Crown Court last April after admitting having ecstasy with intent to supply and six counts of simple drug possession.

The 25-year-old appealed against the sentence on grounds that the total was too long - and Mr Justice Astill agreed and substituted a three-year term.

The judge - sitting with Lord Justice Potter and Mr Justice Henriques - said Dassu was a drug addict who was now trying to control his habit.

There was a letter before the court from Dassu's family stating that his conduct had caused "extreme difficulties" and "embarrassment" to them.

Dassu was arrested after police chased a car, in which he was a front seat passenger, in Blackburn on August 16, 2002.

The driver tried to evade police but ended up hitting the kerb after which a bag of ecstasy tablets was hurled into the road.

Police recovered the bag and found 214 ecstasy tablets worth around £645, said Mr Justice Astill.

Dassu had pleaded guilty on the basis that he was not a "commercial" dealer, but had acquired the drugs for friends and for personal use.

There was "no commercial motivation" to his actions, said Mr Justice Astill.

The judge concluded that the four-year term was "too long", cutting it to three years.