have his conviction for the manslaughter of Dean Antoine Young quashed.

The Court of Appeal also rejected an alternative attempt by Burgess to have his 14 year sentence reduced on the grounds that it was excessive.

Burgess, 34, of Cashew City Road, St. David's, was jailed in April for slaying his love rival Mr. Young during a fight in October 1999.

Mr. Young, who was known as Big Dean, died as a result of receiving 23 knife wounds after rushing to the house of his former girlfriend, Trina Todd, in Parson's Road, Pembroke.

Mr. Young lived with Ms Todd, the mother of his son Shiloh, until March 1999 but moved out as a result of her affair with Burgess.

Ms Todd was not living with Burgess, but she indicated that she wanted to cool her relationship with him and she was considering getting back with Mr. Young.

On the fatal night, Mr. Young called Ms Todd and could hear Burgess beating her.

He drove round in his car and a fight broke out and in the house where he was stabbed with a nine inch kitchen knife.

Burgess claimed Mr. Young ran at him and that in the midst of a desperate struggle in the house, he stabbed him with the knife.

Burgess argued that he was terrified of Mr. Young and only used the knife in self-defence.

But trial judge Chief Justice Austin Ward described the killing as an act of "savage butchery''.

Burgess's lawyer Mark Pettingill brought nine grounds under which he argued his client suffered a miscarriage of justice which were rejected.

The Appeal Court Judges -President Sir James Astwood, Mr. Justice Philip Clough, and Sir Derek Cons - also dismissed his bid to have his sentence cut back.

The Appeal Court judges pointed out that Mr. Young was unarmed yet Burgess inflicted suffered 23 stab wounds.

Upholding the sentence, the Appeal Court Judges noted that life was the maximum period of incarceration for manslaughter.

"The deceased received 23 stab wounds, and, keeping in mind the Chief Justice's comments in his notes in which he expressed his own sense of revulsion on the case, we cannot say that a sentence of 14 years was manifestly excessive in the circumstances of the case, or is in any way wrong in principle,'' they ruled.