An alcoholic who killed a “gentle, kind and generous man” with a vodka bottle can ask to be freed after serving four years behind bars following an Appeal Court ruling.

Wayne Green was put behind bars indefinitely for public protection (IPP) after he was convicted of the manslaughter of Orville Henry at the Old Bailey in March.

The 57-year-old was ordered to serve a minimum of five years, but that was today slashed to four years by Appeal Court judges.

Mr Justice Davis said Green had been drinking with Mr Henry and another man at Mr Henry’s house in Holmwood Road, Ilford, in June last year.

He said the trio had an argument which culminated in Mr Henry being hit twice on the head with a bottle, suffering injuries from which he died.

Green, of Dagenham, who was also injured, tried to blame another man for the killing, but was disbelieved by the jury, who convicted him of manslaughter on grounds of provocation.

Lord Thomas of Gresford QC, for Green, today also argued his conviction should be overturned.

The barrister described Mr Henry as a “gentle, kind and generous man” but argued Green’s defence had been undermined by a scathing prosecution attack in which he was dubbed an “intelligent beast”.

However, Mr Justice Davis, sitting with Lord Justice Toulson and Mrs Justice Dobbs, rejected the conviction appeal, saying the prosecution had retracted the statement and the judge had told the jury to only look at the facts.

The Appeal Court went on to reduce Green’s minimum jail term given the uncertainty that still surrounds the facts of the killing.

Once Green has served his minimum four-year term, he will still only be freed when the Parole Board is convinced the danger he poses to society has passed.