A PAEDOPHILE from Milverton who carried out a string of sex attacks on vulnerable girls has had his life sentence quashed at London's Court of Appeal.

Top judges said the danger posed by Martyn Coles, of Creedwell Orchard, Milverton, could be marked by an indefinite term of imprisonment for public protection.

Coles also had his minimum jail term cut from 15 to ten years.

Mrs Justice Cox, sitting with Lord Justice Toulson and Judge Brian Barker QC, said that 15 years was "manifestly excessive" and outside sentencing guidelines.

Coles, 55, was found guilty at Taunton Crown Court in July 2009 of sex offences, including rape, against multiple victims.

He lured underage girls to his home - sometimes taking advantage of their love of animals by promising they could see his pets - and gave them drink, drugs and alcohol and then took advantage of them.

His six victims, some of whom were groomed over a lengthy period, were abused between 2000 and 2008, but when he was eventually arrested he denied any wrongdoing.

Mrs Justice Cox said that Coles received a life sentence after Judge Graham Hume Jones, who jailed him at the Crown Court, took into account his lack of co-operation with the probation authorities after he was convicted.

But she ruled that was not a criteria for imposing a life sentence.

Also cut the minimum term, Mrs Justice Cox said that, although the offences Coles had committed were serious, they did not involve violence, humiliation or long-lasting physical injuries.

She said that the original 15-year "tariff" was simply too long.