THE family of a young father killed in a street attack are concerned that his death is being exploited by Right-wing extremists.

Leaflets entitled Justice for Simo were distributed outside Darlington football ground on Saturday by a group calling itself Fair - Families Against Immigrant Racism - and are circulating widely in the town.

The leaflets were produced by Paul Thompson, a leading member of the British National Party (BNP) in Darlington and a convicted football hooligan.

The leaflets highlight the death of Paul Simpson, who was killed after Alfred Welch, a member of the town's settled traveller community, punched him, causing him to fall and hit his head on the kerb.

The 34-year-old died the next day in hospital, leaving two young children and his partner, Patricia Kelly.

Welch was convicted of manslaughter after Teesside Crown Court heard that he had been engaged in a sick game to see whether he could knock over innocent bystanders with a single punch.

But there was outrage when Welch was sentenced to just three years in prison and the family have announced they intend to appeal against what they claim is a too lenient sentence.

The leaflets urge members of the public to voice their outrage at what is described as a travesty of justice, by contacting the editor of The Northern Echo, or Paul Thompson at Fair.

Last night, the Editor, Peter Barron, stressed that the paper had no connection with the leaflets.

Police intervened on Saturday to prevent them being handed out after deciding they were racially inflammatory, an accusation Mr Thompson denies.

"If the judge had given a bigger sentence it would have prevented racist attacks," he said.

"It's about time someone spoke up. I think these leaflets prevent trouble, because they give people a way of expressing their feelings without going into vigilante attacks."

However, Patricia Kelly said the family were concerned about the racist nature of the leaflets.

She said: "We welcome any support in relation to the appeal against the pathetically lenient sentence given to the person who killed Paul.

"But we don't want his name or memory used by people causing any problems and we don't support any kind of racist propaganda."

Ricky Heaven, a representative of Darlington's anti-racism group, said: "The undertones of this leaflet are not about Paul Simpson and justice, but about whipping up racism against gipsies and immigrants.

"People have to be very careful when considering getting involved in something like this. It has all the hallmarks of credibility, but it is merely a ploy to dupe people into getting involved in racist politics."