Two friends, Isbar Ellahi and Shafiq Mohammed have been released from prison after 8 months after trying to protect their Ellahi's brother from a 'gang of 15 youths'.

Israr Ellahi was kicked and beaten in Tunstall, Staffordshire, in June 2010, he died 12 days later. Isbar and Shafiq had been passing in a car when they stopped to assist Israr. Although one man was charged with manslaughter, the case was later dropped due to lack of evidence. However, the two men who tried to stop the fight were charged with violent disorder.

The decision to release the men who were sentenced to prison for 'brawling', was given at the London Court of Appeal where the judges agreed that the men should never have been jailed, and that their culpability had been 'seriously overestimated'.

Parvez Akhtar, a family friend, was among 400 men who packed into a community centre to call for an inquiry into the police's handling of the case. The 47-year-old, of Clive Street, Tunstall, said today: "The judges have seen some sense and overturned the sentences."

The family of murdered Israr Ellahi have said that they can now grieve, after his brother was released.