The family of a Scot stabbed to death outside a pub in Bath said yesterday they had "no hope for justice" after a teenager was acquitted of the murder.

The family of a Scot stabbed to death outside a pub in Bath said yesterday they had "no hope for justice" after a teenager was acquitted of the murder.

Paul Kelly, 32, died just hours into New Year's Day last year after a fight in the city's Longacre Tavern spilled out on to the street.

Nathan Dixon, 18, was accused of launching a "frenzied attack" on Mr Kelly. He was also named as the killer in a poem, written anonymously and posted on lampposts and bus stops around Bath several weeks after the incident.

After a trial at Bristol Crown Court, the jury of six men and six women accepted the defence's argument that the prosecution witnesses presented in court were "unreliable".

Mr Kelly's family, who live in Paisley, Renfrewshire, rushed out of court in tears after hearing the verdict. His father, also Paul, and two daughters screamed at Mr Dixon's family as they left the court.

"I am appalled and disgusted by what has happened. Our lives have been destroyed by this," said Mr Kelly snr outside the court. "I do not know what else I can do but remortgage the house and begin civil proceedings."

"We feel that justice hasn't been done," added Mr Kelly's mother, Allison. "We are upset and angry. What hope can we have for justice?"

During Mr Dixon's two-week trial, the court heard he allegedly boasted he was a "murderer" in rap music slang in the months after Mr Kelly's death. Neil Ford, prosecuting, said Mr Dixon, of Bath, had told a friend: "I'm a 187" - the Californian penal code for first-degree murder.

But Richard Carey-Hughes, defending, said the prosecution witnesses were "lying".

Mr Kelly, who had a history of drug and alcohol problems, had not seen his family for 12 years when he died. He grew up in Pollok, Glasgow, then Neilston, Renfrewshire, but moved to Kent at the age of 18 to live with his grandmother.

He married in 1985 and had a daughter, Jade, now 13, but the relationship was marred by alcohol abuse and they eventually split. He later met another woman with whom he had a further two children.

By the time he died, he had been clean of drink and drugs for three years and lived alone in a flat in Bath where he was helping out at a rehab centre. His parents had hoped to be reunited with their son.

Mr Kelly was celebrating the new year with friends when an argument broke out between his friend and a group of black men and women. He left the pub and began arguing with some of the group in an alleyway, where he was attacked.

Speaking as he and his family left the court, Nathan Dixon's father, Rod, said his son felt "justified".

An Avon and Somerset Police spokesman admitted last night that officers were "disappointed" with the verdict. "We are not looking for anyone else," he added.

20 witnesses... but a wall of silence

MORE than 20 people were thought to have witnessed the fight which resulted in Paul Kelly's murder. But in the months after the attack, police hit a "wall of silence" from those in the Longacre Tavern in Bath in the early hours of New Year's Day last year.

The case was featured on the BBC's Crimewatch when a reconstruction of events was shown along with interviews with Mr Kelly's parents, Paul and Allison.

The inquiry took another twist when a poem appeared on lampposts and bus stops around Bath. The verse, titled Running From Paul Kelly, named Nathan Dixon as the killer, claimed the attack was racially motivated and suggested that the knife used to stab Mr Kelly had later been thrown into the River Avon.

The poet, who did not sign his work, described how he and other witnesses were threatened but were ashamed that "we turned our backs".

The Kelly family praised the poet for "having the courage to say something". Mr Kelly's sister Tracy said: "It made everyone sit up and take notice of what was going on."

But with no-one coming forward as the author, the poem was not mentioned by prosecutors when Mr Dixon stood trial at Bristol Crown Court. His defence would later dismiss it during proceedings.

Detective Inspector Guy Turner, who led the inquiry for Avon and Somerset Police, said of the poem: "It was unusual but it aided our investigation in no way whatsoever.

"Our main problem has been that we are still faced with people not coming forward."

Mr Kelly's family criticised the inquiry. Paul Kelly Snr said: "The investigation has been a disaster from the start."