A MARINE caught with ecstasy tablets in a nightclub won his freedom, but it was not enough to revive his career in the forces.

Jonathan McKie, of Orford Road, Prestwich, was convicted at Plymouth Crown Court of possessing the drug with intent to supply and was later sentenced to 15 months in prison.

But his legal team told London's Court of Appeal that the 23-year-old had been forced to leave the Marines because of the incident, and will never be able to return.

Lawyers also said that McKie was of previous good character and had only fought the case in an attempt to save his career.

Barrister Nicholas Lewin added that McKie, based at barracks in Plymouth at the time of the offence, would be able to attend his sister's wedding if he was allowed to be released.

Mr Justice Leveson, who heard the case with Mr Justice Moses, said the courts did not reduce sentences in order to fit in with the social arrangements of offenders.

But he agreed that McKie had got too long, and reduced his jail term to 12 months, which meant he could be released immediately on a tagging system.

The judge told the court McKie, described as a model prisoner, was caught in September 2003 in the toilets of a Plymouth nightclub by a bouncer.

When he was searched, the bouncer found 11 ecstasy tablets, and McKie told police that night that he had brought them for friends and did not intend to make a profit.

Later he changed his story, telling officers that someone had put the drugs in the waistband of his trousers without him knowing.

He claimed it could have been a girl he was chatting too earlier in the evening, but the jury rejected his defence.