RELATIVES of two Bradford convicted murderers under joint enterprise law have welcomed a Supreme Court ruling that the legislation had been wrongly interpreted by criminal trial judges for the last 30 years.

The judgement, delivered at a hearing in London yesterday, could lead to people convicted of joint enterprise crimes mounting appeals.

Rebecca Wright, sister of Andrew Feather, and Casey Kellett, sister of Laura Mitchell, said they were hopeful that murder convictions against their siblings could be overturned in the near future.

The Supreme Court justices said prosecutors, judges and jurors must take a different approach when dealing with such defendants.

They said it was not right that someone should be guilty merely because they foresaw that a co-accused might commit a crime.

Campaign group JENGbA (Joint Enterprise Not Guilty by Association) said the ruling gave "another option" to appeals by people convicted under joint enterprise.

Jan Cunliffe, a co-founder of JENGbA who referenced the cases of Feather and Mitchell as examples of joint enterprise convictions, said yesterday: "There are quite a lot of cases in Bradford that come to us.

"I think some are already looking towards an appeal, but today will add weight to whatever they have. It is now another option that was not available until today."

Feather was convicted of murder under the principle of joint enterprise in the 2013 Barry Selby acid attack killing. Feather, of Heysham Drive, Holme Wood, is serving a minimum 26-year sentence for murder after he was convicted of being the getaway driver in the Barry Selby killing for which three other men were also convicted of murder.

His sister Rebecca said of yesterday's ruling: "I am ecstatic, I cannot believe it. Andrew was crying, bless him. He was a happy upset."

She added: "His appeal has gone in already and we are waiting for it to be listed. We are now going to put an add on from this new ruling.

"It is really good news. It is good news for Laura as well - she is getting a second chance at proving her innocence."

Mitchell, her boyfriend Michael Hall and two other young men were given life sentences in October 2007 for the murder of Andrew Ayres, 50, who was attacked in the car park of the King’s Head pub in Halifax Road, Buttershaw.

Judge Stephen Gullick said Mr Ayres's death was caused by Carl Holmes, then 21, stamping on his face as he lay on the ground, leaving him unrecognisable.

The judge said he was sentencing Mitchell, Hall, and Henry Ballantyne on the basis that they were secondary parties to the death. Mitchell appealed against her murder conviction, saying she had played no part in the fatal attack on Mr Ayres, had not encouraged it and had no idea that he might be killed. Her appeal was rejected.

On the ruling, Ms Kellett said: "It is fantastic, we are over the moon. I am just in shock. We can hopefully push for the appeal for Laura now.

"I spoke to Laura. She was happy but I think she was in shock as well, that it has gone in our favour. She doesn't want to get her hopes up."

A panel of five Supreme Court justices analysed the issue of joint enterprise at a hearing in London in October when considering an appeal by Ameen Jogee, who was convicted of murder after egging on a friend to stab a former policeman, Paul Fyfe.

The Supreme Court has now allowed Jogee's appeal against conviction but he will stay in prison while lawyers decide whether he should be retried.