A High Wycombe thug who took off his belt and used it as a weapon in a street fight has had his jail term cut by top judges.

Vinnie Edward Gerald Eastman, 26, of Totteridge Road, was jailed for 14 months at Oxford Crown Court on February 21.

He admitted a public order offence and possessing an offensive weapon and was also sentenced for failing to appear at an earlier hearing.

He was in a gang of five men involved in a clash with another man in Oxford city centre on December 22 last year.

The lone man slapped one of Eastman's group before walking away, Lord Justice Holroyde told London's Appeal Court today.

Eastman followed him and they exchanged punches before being separated.

Soon afterwards, Eastman took off his belt and wrapped it around his fist, using it as a weapon to repeatedly punch the other man.

Eastman had 17 previous convictions and received an 18-month sentence for affray in 2013.

"It’s a worrying record, suggesting a pattern which, if it is not stopped by Eastman, is likely to lead him to ever longer sentences," said Lord Justice Holroyde.

His lawyers today argued that his jail term was too harsh.

The judge said Eastman's crimes involved “violence in a city centre late at night”.

It was close to Christmas when “it could be expected other people were out in the city centre socialising”.

Such offending “gives rise to considerable public concern” and it was not the first time he had been in trouble.

But his overall sentence “went beyond what was required to impose just and proportionate punishment for the offending in the city centre, taken as a whole”.

"We are persuaded that the sentence should be reduced from 14 months' imprisonment to 11 months' imprisonment," the judge concluded.