Stephen Potter was imprisonment for public protection (IPP) at Nottingham Crown Court in June after admitting sexual assault, and sexual activity in the presence of a child.

The IPP sentence was almost identical to a life term and meant Potter could not be freed until he managed to persuade the Parole Board he posed no danger to the public.

However, Mr Justice Blake, sitting with Sir John May and Mr Justice Beatson at London's Criminal Appeal Court, has quashed the tough, open-ended sentence.

The judges replaced it with a conventional 30-month jail term.

Potter (51), of Vicars Court, molested the girl and also committed an indecent act, the court was told.

However, Mr Justice Blake said there was not enough information about the 'circumstances of the offence' before the Crown Court judge to justify the IPP sentence.

Although Potter has a previous conviction for a violent crime, the judge said there was no evidence of previous sexual misconduct.

His offence against the schoolgirl was not the worst of its kind, the judge added, while there were no elements of 'threats or grooming' to the crime.