A jilted lover who attacked his former girlfriend's new man with an axe as his jealousy spiralled out of control did not get a day too long behind bars, top judges ruled.

James Tetley pleaded guilty at Bradford Crown Court last October to causing grievous bodily harm to John Topham.

The 41-year-old, of Montserrat Road, Tong Street, Bradford, who still lived at home with his mother and had never had a relationship before, was sentenced to six years' imprisonment.

Yesterday his legal team described him as a man of 'positively good character' who had become depressed after his first and only girlfriend, Hazel Smith, left him.

They told Mr Justice Mitchell and Mrs Justice Hallett, sitting at London's Court of Appeal, that dozens of Tetley's neighbours and friends had signed a petition asking for leniency.

And they added Tetley, who pays his elderly mother's mortgage, has also lost his job while behind bars.

But Mrs Justice Hallett said Tetley, who pleaded not guilty to attempted murder, should consider himself lucky that the Crown hadn't pushed to have him convicted on that charge.

"This was a very serious offence," said the judge, who observed Tetley was "fortunate" Mr Topham did not die.

"This was as close to attempted murder as one may expect to get," she said.

"He went determined on aggression.

"He very nearly killed Mr Topham and as far as he knew, when he left the scene, he had succeeded."

Mrs Justice Hallett added that there was no way in which Tetley's sentence could be described as "manifestly excessive".

The judge told the court Tetley, who had suffered bouts of depression in the past, took up with Ms Smith in the summer of 2001 but was told their relationship was "nothing serious".

But when they eventually split up - she had taken him back after he threatened suicide following an initial separation - he took it "badly."

Tetley subjected Ms Smith to a number of hoax telephone calls and damaged her property, but events escalated on the night of March 23, 2002.

A window at Tetley's house was smashed, and believing Ms Smith was behind it - nothing was ever proved - he went to her house where a fight broke out between him and Mr Topham.

Mrs Justice Hallett said Tetley struck him several times to the head with the axe he was carrying, inflicting "dreadful" injuries including a compound skull fracture.

The judge added Mr Topham also suffered a number of cuts and bruises to his face, shoulder blade and lower spine.