A dangerous voyeur who wanted to sexually assault a nine-year-old girl in a public toilet has had his jail term cut.

John Robert Newton, 29, followed the young girl into the lavatory in a west Cumbrian park in 2014.

She was inside a locked cubicle when she became aware of somebody in the next one. When she looked up, she saw Newton.

He smashed his way into her cubicle, breaking the lock, and physically assaulted her, Mrs Justice McGowan told London's Appeal Court.

But the girl fought back bravely and cried out as she heard a woman entering the toilet.

The woman cried for help and Newton, of Fisher Street, Workington, fled, knocking her to the ground as he pushed past her.

A passerby gave chase but lost sight of Newton. The pervert matched the attacker's description however, and he was arrested at his home soon afterwards.

Newton admitted falsely imprisoning the girl with intent to commit a sexual offence and was jailed for 12 years at Carlisle Crown Court in 2015.

Condemned as a dangerous sex offender, he was also ordered to serve an extra eight years on extended licence after release.

He was subject to a suspended sentence and a sexual offences prevention order at the time of the attack.

And alcoholic Newton's 14 previous convictions included an indecent assault on a girl over 16 and voyeurism.

The suspended sentence had been imposed in 2014 after he put a camera phone in the ceiling of a supermarket toilet.

Mrs Justice McGowan, sitting with Lord Justice Hamblen and Judge John Wait, said Newton had rightly been labelled dangerous.

Although he suffered from a mild learning disability and ADHD, he deserved "a very lengthy prison sentence".

The victim had suffered distress, fear and anxiety and her family was concerned about the long term impact of the attack.

But the appeal judge ruled that Newton's 12-year jail term, on a guilty plea, was "manifestly excessive in all the circumstances".

She added: "Although the violence used was gratuitous and frightening, it caused no serious physical injury."

Allowing the appeal, the judge added that, although extremely serious, it was "not the worst case" of its kind.

Newton's jail term was reduced to 10 years, although the eight-year extended licence period remains in place.

But Mrs Justice McGowan emphasised that Newton will serve at least two-thirds of his jail term behind bars.

After his release, he will be closely monitored in the community for an extended period and could be recalled to prison if he put a foot wrong.