Judges have halved a convicted sex offender's jail sentence for dressing up as a priest to perform a friend's funeral.

Trevor Anthony Norkett, 41, of Collonade Gardens, Eastbourne, was jailed for two years at Lewes Crown Court in January for breaching the ban on him adopting the guise of a cleric.

He had been banned from pretending he was a church minister to prevent him getting close to young boys.

The condition was imposed on him when he was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for ten years in February 1999 after being convicted of indecency with a child.

London's Criminal Appeal Court yesterday agreed his sentence for breaching the ban was too long and cut it to 12 months, accepting there was no sexual or violent misbehaviour involved in the breach.

Using the name Father Terry Mote, he had conducted a funeral service at Eastbourne crematorium for 46-year-old chef David Bayliss, whose widow Rebecca had asked Norkett to perform the ceremony because she believed he was a vicar.

Norkett had befriended the couple, his neighbours in a block of flats, while living in Eastbourne.

After the service, the undertakers believed Norkett was genuine and left him a £79 cheque to cover his expenses in the chapel.

Norkett later admitted to police dressing up as a minister at least twice a week in the previous year.

Mr Justice Silber, sitting with Lord Justice Rose and Sir Michael Wright, said Norkett had been disregarding the terms of the order.

"He was putting himself in a position by which he could obtain the trust of young people. The seriousness of this offence is seriously aggravated by it being the third occasion on which he acted in breach of the Sex Offenders Order."

He said Norkett had been undeterred by receiving four months imprisonment for two breaches in August 2001.

On August 12 last year, while wearing religious clothing, he conducted the funeral.

After subsequent inquiries were made, on November 9 last year, when Norkett was not at home, police with a search warrant seized clerical garments from his address.

When interviewed, he admitted conducting the funeral service and to dressing up as a minister.

"He denied it was to have access to young children," Mr Justice Silber said.

The judge said Norkett had a number of previous convictions including the two previous breaches for which he was jailed.

A pre-sentence report recommended a custodial sentence as Norkett had not shown remorse for breaching the order.

It said he appeared to "thrive on this type of deception" and was not motivated to change.

The report concluded there was high risk of him re-offending in a similar way and said he posed a risk to vulnerable people in the future.