A GRIEVING family has taken its fight for justice to Parliament.

Alyn and Deeside MP Mark Tami has handed over a petition containing almost 3,000 signatures to the House of Commons on behalf of the family of Peter Jones, who was killed after being punched on a night out in Buckley last May.

The petition is calling for a review in the guidelines for manslaughter, with the family having voiced their disgust at Gafyn Denman being handed a sentence of three years and four months for killing him with a single punch.

Peter’s grandmother Anne Jones, of Buckley, has led the petition and has seen the region show its support for the family’s fight for justice, just weeks away from the first anniversary of his death.

She said: “It won’t bring Peter back but hopefully it can help somebody else in the same position.

“There was no justice in the sentence. You see people getting longer sentences than that for far less, the system needs to work far better.

“Gafyn Denman is likely to be released early next year after only serving half his sentence and can then get on with the rest of his life.”

Anne’s son, Peter Snr, was injured after being assaulted at the scene of Peter Jnr’s death, leading to Ross Taylor being handed an eight month sentence.

“I did this for both my son and grandson, the law few months have been so difficult for us,” added Anne, 71.

“He has been so upset by what happened. Peter was his constant companion.”

The fight for justice has been taken forward by Mr Tami, who is determined to see the law changed on the family’s behalf.

He said: “This was an awful case where somebody was killed purely for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, they didn’t even know each other.

“It seems the sentencing a judge can give in such cases comes under very strict guidelines that mean the sentence may be limited.

“There can be a very thin line between manslaughter and murder and hopefully we can make progress and help other families like Peter’s.”

Mr Tami, who said he has also taken up the issue with the Home Office, was full of praise for the Jones family for their efforts in trying to highlight the issue.

He added: “I would like to pay credit to the family and Peter’s grandmother for getting so many signatures on this petition.

“This is a tremendous achievement and they have tried to bring something positive out of what happened.

“I will keep pushing on this and hopefully we can make progress with it.”

Mr Tami, who said any change in legislation is unlikely to happen in the short-term due to the length of time such processes take, said he was aware of other politicians being supportive of the family’s campaign.

Peter, 24, was a former pupil of Alun School, Mold.

He died in hospital from head injuries sustained by Denman’s punch while out in Buckley with his father, having been shopping in Chester earlier in the day.

- AT Christmas, Peter’s mother Christine, received a letter from Secretary of State for Justice Kenneth Clarke suggesting changes could be made to manslaughter sentences.

Mr Clarke wrote to make Mrs Jones aware of a judgement by the Court of Appeal indicating crimes resulting in death “should be treated more seriously and dealt with more severely than before”.