A convicted drug trafficker on the run from a Preston prison will spend another two years inside when he is caught.

Top judges at London's Court of Appeal heeded the request of the Attorney General to increase the sentence of Mark Hilton, of Main Street, Warton, near Carnforth.

But the 40-year-old who was convicted of plotting to flood the UK drugs market with fake Ecstasy tablets last June was not around to hear the news - after absconding from Kirkham Open Prison.

The hearing to review his five-year sentence went ahead after Lord Goldsmith QC con-demned it as 'unduly lenient'.

As police continue to try to track down Hilton, Lord Justice Kennedy agreed with submissions from Christopher Hehir that five years was not long enough to mark the crime.

Mr Hehir argued that the trial judge at Preston Crown Court was not justified in giving the sentencing 'discount' he had on the basis that the drugs made were not the real thing.

The Appeal Court heard that Hilton bought premises in Morecambe in 1997 and bought ingredients he believed were not illegal but when mixed could mimic the effects of Ecstasy.

He also studied chemistry to learn his 'trade' and bought a pill press capable of turning-out 40,000 tablets an hour.

Judge Kennedy said Hilton had taken part in a sophisticated conspiracy and 'targeted' young and vulnerable people.