THE managing director of an activities centre, jailed for the manslaughter of four young victims of the Lyme Bay canoeing tragedy, had his three-year sentence cut by a year in the Court of Appeal yesterday.
With remission, Peter Kite, 46, who has spent 14 months in jail, is eligible for immediate release.
Earlier, Kite, of Richmond, south-west London, had his appeal against conviction on the four manslaughter charges dismissed by the same judges.
Lord Justice Swinton Thomas, sitting with Mr Justice Harrison and Mr Justice Thomas, said they were ``wholly satisfied'' that the verdicts returned by the jury at Winchester Crown Court in December 1994 were not in any way unsafe.
But the judges agreed to cut the sentence after hearing from Mr Edmund Lawson, QC, representing Kite, that the longest sentence passed for similar charges of manslaughter caused by gross negligence was 21 months.
Angry parents of the victims gathered outside the court.
Mr Denis Walker, father of victim Rachel, 16, said: ``I am devastated. There were several players in this tragedy. One of them, Mr Kite, was sentenced to three years but will soon be walking free. My daughter was sentenced to death.''
Mrs Caroline Langley, mother of 16-year-old Claire, said: ``I am just sad and angry about what has happened today. This is a life sentence for all the parents of the victims.''
Four sixth-formers from Southway School, Plymouth, died on March 22, 1993, after setting out from the St Albans Centre on what was described at the trial as an ill-conceived and poorly-executed canoe trip.
What was meant to be a two-hour paddle to Charmouth, Dorset, ended in tragedy when the weather worsened and the canoes were swamped.
The victims were Dean Sayer, 17, Simon Dunne, 16, and Claire and Rachel.
Lord Justice Swinton Thomas said that sentencing in cases such as this caused the courts ``very great anxiety''.
He said the trial judge had based his sentence on the fact that the charges were serious and demanded a term ``of substance''.
``We entirely agree with that comment by the judge, but in all the circumstances of the case, is three years too long?''
He said the judges had agreed that an ``appropriate'' sentence would be two years.
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