A PRESTON teenager who caused a friend's death in a fight, had his detention ter

m cut from six years to four-and-a-half by the Criminal Appeal Court in London on Monday.

Stephen Bosanko, 19, of Wilbraham Street, received the original sentence on June 24 at Preston Crown Court after admitting the manslaughter of married Sajed Ahmed, aged 22.

Lord Bingham, the Lord Chief Justice, sitting with Mr Justice Morison and Mr Justice Nelson, announced in the Appeal Court: "We substitute four-and-a-half years.

"His counsel Miss Kathryn Johnson has relied on his guilty plea, his age, the absence of any weapon, the circumstances of previous exchanges between him and the victim, which do not show Basanko to be the sole aggressor, and the provocative remark which sparked the fatal blow."

Lord Bingham said Bosanko committed the offence on September 2 last year - his 18th birthday - after he, the victim and another man met at a Preston pub to celebrate. All of them had been drinking, Bosanko quite heavily, during the day.

The victim was also taking tablets containing an hypnotic drug which should not have been taken with alcohol and induced drowsiness.

Bosanko and the victim became increasingly argumentative as the evening wore on and, around 10pm, they and the other man went to the home of a woman named Carter. They continued drinking, Bosanko and the victim continued to quarrel.

Bosanko and the victim fought outside, after which they shook hands.

After a while the victim apparently tried to punch Bosanko, who retaliated and knocked him over. As the victim got back to his feet he made an insulting remark about Bosanko's mother.

Bosanko then hit him a single blow, knocking him over. The victim cracked his head on the ground and then lay motionless.

Ambulancemen took him to hospital but he died shortly afterwards.

Meanwhile Bosanko had gone to the victim's father and told him about the fight.

A post mortem showed the victim had extensive skull fractures, swelling of the brain and bruising to face and head.

The sentencing judge accepted that the fatal blow was not intended to cause death or serious injury. He recalled that Bosanko committed the offence while on licence from a four-month term for an assault. In 1996 he had been convicted of unlawful wounding with a knife.

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