THE family of a North-East father-of-two, who died after he was punched as part of a sick "game", was last night waiting to see if his killer would face an extended prison sentence.

Mature student Paul Simpson's mother, Barbara, said she remained hopeful that Appeal Court judges would today increase Alfred Welch's three-year jail term.

Eight members of the Darlington family travelled to London for the hearing, which followed an application by the Crown Prosecution Service, and backed by Durham Police, arguing the original sentence was too lenient.

After a hearing, which lasted more than an hour yesterday, the judges adjourned the case and a decision is expected shortly after 10am today.

Mrs Simpson told The Northern Echo last night that she felt the judges' decision to spend time considering the case indicated that they were not inclined to reject the appeal.

She said: "I think it's a good sign, really."

Mr Simpson, 33, from Eldon Street, Darlington, died after he was punched by 21-year-old Welch and suffered fatal injuries when he fell and struck the back of his head on a kerb.

On the night of the killing, Welch had been cruising the streets in a car, playing a violent game in which he called pedestrians over to his vehicle on an innocent pretext before punching them in the face.

Counsel for the Attorney General, Richard Horwell, argued at the Appeal Court that three years was "unduly lenient" and should be increased.

He said there were serious "aggravating features", not least "the obvious effect this has had on the family of the deceased".

Mr Horwell said the sentence should reflect the "public perception and its distaste for gratuitous violent on the streets".

The most disturbing feature was that "death was the consequence of the offender embarking on a course of conduct for his own amusement", said Mr Horwell.

He told Lord Justice Pill, sitting with Mr Justice Gross and Mrs Justice Rafferty: "Quite what the game was is not clear, but the game of calling pedestrians over to his vehicle and then punching them on the head was obviously a dangerous one."

Welch, of Harris Street, Darlington, was jailed for three years at Teesside Crown Court in July last year after pleading guilty to manslaughter.

Welch's counsel, John Milford, told the Appeal Court yesterday that he was a man of previous good character from a "settled travelling family in Darlington".

He was a young man of a "religious bent" who had shown great remorse for his actions and presented little risk of re-offending.

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