The parents of tragic Aimee Wellock today spoke of their anger and dismay as three teenagers were cleared of her killing.

Their 15-year-old daughter collapsed and died after she was set upon by Claire Carey, 18, and two others aged 15 and 17, who cannot be named for legal reasons, at a Bradford beauty spot last June.

But Lord Justice Dyson, sitting with Mr Justice Tomlinson and Mr Justice Andrew Smith at the Appeal Court in London today quashed the manslaughter convictions although their convictions for affray still stand.

The trio were each sent to a young offender institution for two years last October.

Today the court ruled that mother-of-one Carey's sentence for affray should still be two years in custody.

In the case of the 15-year-old, who is due to give birth at the beginning of next month, they said that in the "exceptional" circumstances of her situation they were imposing a three-year supervision order.

The 17-year-old had the length of her detention and training order, which was imposed for affray, reduced from two years to 12 months.

Aimee's parents Alan and Jackie Wellock, of Canford Drive, Allerton, were at the Court of Appeal to hear the judges' ruling.

Reacting to the decision Mr Wellock said: "We put our faith and confidence in the judicial system but it has turned its back on us.

"The police did their job but the system has let them down.

"We are very disturbed about what message this sends out.

"They admitted the attacks. They should be punished for that.

"These people attacked a person who lost their life. They were given sentences that you would expect these days. But we don't expect those sentences to be adjusted, or for them to be freed. There is no punishment in this.

"Who is shouting out for Aimee in all this? She can't do it.

"We, and the general public, know that they were responsible for Aimee's death. If they hadn't attacked Aimee she would be alive today.

"The reason why we have a charge of manslaughter is because of the different degrees of causing someone's death and you can pass a sentence which fits that particular crime.

"Aimee would have wanted to continue her life and enjoy the things that a young girl would. That is the sickening thing in all this. We feel angry and let down.

"What message is this sending out to young people. Usually, people so young do not get involved in this type of crime. In this case, they did, but have not been punished for it."

And in a statement outside the court, Mr and Mrs Welloock said: "Emotionally, the events of today have crushed us.

"As we have said previously, we brought Aimee up to put her faith in all the professional people who surrounded her young life, doctors, teachers, police and the law.

"As her parents, we know that she would have been devastated by today's result.

"She would have inquired, as we expect many of her friends to inquire, how can this possibly happen and why?

"We do not have the answers. Can they be explained to us?

"From our first hand experiences, it would seem that the law is on the side of the perpetrator rather than the victim, who seems to fall into insignificance.

"We believe that many aspects of our judicial system are long overdue for review.

"Should we leave this entirely to those currently involved? We think not and we believe that there are many more people who feel the same. We now intend to act and we look for support.

"On the morning of June 7 2005 we kissed Aimee goodbye. Little did we know that this would be the last time that we would see her alive.

"As any sensible person would appreciate, Aimee's death was a consequence of the actions of those people who attacked her.

"To believe that her death was a tragic coincidence is, in the words of the Home Office pathologist Professor Milroy, who carried out the post mortem on Aimee's body, 'this would have been absolutely fantastical'.

"Aimee set off early on the evening of June 7 2005 for a quiet stroll with friends and as a result of being threatened to be thrown into a reservoir, robbed of a charity wristband which she wore in support of her grandmother's heart condition and finally punched and kicked in the head along with her friends, she subsequently died running away from the attack.

"Those who have defended such actions believe that this could not have been foreseen.

"We ask, is society now in such a state that those of us with any medical condition should wear a label in order to excuse us from any such event?

"In other words: 'Excuse me sir/madam, have you got high blood pressure, a heart condition, and have you had a recent medical examination? Good, then I'm OK to attack you'.

"People need to understand that they cannot go around attacking people. How dare they hurt another person.

"As is the case in most families, we believed that such a tragedy could never happen to us.

"It has and we feel that the punishment should fit the crime."