THE sister of a former paratrooper who died in police custody says the decision to refer the case to the Court of Appeal is "too little, too late."

Christopher Alder, 37, whose sister Janet lives in Burnley, died face down with his trousers around his ankles after he was arrested for a breach of the peace outside a Hull nightclub six years ago.

An inquest concluded he was unlawfully killed. Five police officers - Sergeant John Dunn, 40, and PCs Neil Blakey, 42; Mark Ellerington, 37; Nigel Dawson, 41, and Matthew Barr, 38 - were cleared of neglect of duty at an independent hearing following Christopher's death at Queen's Gardens police station, in Hull, on April 1, 1998.

In the criminal trial that followed, all five officers were cleared of manslaughter and misconduct in a public office.

However, following a review of the way the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) handles deaths in custody, the Attorney General has referred the case to the Court of Appeal.

The Government hopes the changes suggested in the review will ensure the decisions made on whether to prosecute following custody deaths are open, accountable and fair, and that the families of the deceased have more input.

The Court of Appeal, usually a panel of three judges, will look at whether the trial judge, Roderick Evans, was correct in his ruling on the elements the prosecution needed to prove to establish the common law offence of misconduct in a public office in relation to Christopher's death.

The ruling of the Court of Appeal cannot affect the acquittal of the police officers involved but would set a precedent for any future case.

But Janet, described the move as "just another distraction" from the truth.

She said: "This is simply too little, too late. It will not affect the acquittal of the officers.

"I think referring the case to the Court of Appeal is a way for the CPS to cover their backs. If the court decides to uphold the original decision, then at least they can say they covered all bases."

A spokesman for the Attorney General's office said: "In the light of the Attorney General's review, the case of Christopher Alder has been referred to the Court of Appeal to examine whether the trial judge was right in his ruling on the misconduct charge relating to the police officers."

The hearing will be held at the Royal Courts of Justice, in London, on Thursday and Friday. Lawyers for the Alder family are also working with civil rights group Liberty in a bid to get the video tape recording of Christopher's time in Hull police station released. Janet is also calling for a public inquiry into the events surrounding his death and has won the support of Burnley MP Peter Pike.

Last year, Janet and supporters marched on Downing Street in October to demand a public inquiry into Christopher's death .