NEWS that the killer of their son has walked free from jail, only to reoffend, has driven a grieving family into the arms of the British National Party.

Ken Daly is set to stand as a candidate in May's local elections for the far right wing party as he and his wife Angela continue their pursuit of justice' for son Ryan who was killed in a street fight when he was walking home after celebrating his 19th birthday.

The couple, from Moore Avenue, west Thurrock, say they don't share the BNP's rascist views, but are desperate to make a stand against what they see as a soft judicial system.

Ken, 51, who has black and asian friends, says he has been driven to the BNP out of frustration with the law which allowed Ryan's killer, Iain Sellers, now 18, to be release on probation - and locked up again just a few weeks later for breaking his probation agreement.

The couple have received help and support from Thurrock's Labour MP Andrew Mackinlay but they say the government isn't doing enough and news of Sellers' early release has tipped Ken towards the BNP.

He plans to stand in the West Thurrock and South Stifford, which neighbours Grays Riverside ward where Nicholas Geri gained a seat for the BNP in 2003.

Sellers killed Ryan Daly when he was walking home after celebrating his 19th birthday.

A fight broke out and Ryan was hit in the face with a 5ft length of timber. His head struck an iron manhole cover and he died in hospital.

Ken said: "I am not a racist. I am standing just to get justice for my boy. I know that the BNP is using me - but I am using them too. I am asking where is the deterrent for crime these days?

"I just want justice. I am grateful for what Andrew Mackinlay has done for us. But I am using the BNP to get my point across. I have black and white friends - this is just about getting justice for Ryan.

Ryan's mum, Angela, 47, denied the family was racist. She said: "We have black and white friends, and our sons have black mates."

Angie - who keeps Ryan's West Ham-bedecked bedroom exactly as it was before his killing - said she and Ken had attended one BNP meeting, but left when they became unhappy with the tone.

Ken said he could not stand the meeting's slide into talk of "revolution".

But grief at the loss of their son, and with an overwhealming feeling that they have been let down by the law, has led to Ken's decision.

"I told the BNP that this was just about Ryan and nothing to do with race," he said.

The Dalys feel that they have a history of being let down. They were told in June 2006 by Minister of State, Baroness Scotland of Asthal, that: "Mr Sellers will not be released early on Home Detention Curfew unless the Governor can be satisfied that there are exceptional reasons to grant release and he passes a rigorous rish assessment assessment process."

When the Dalys - who have mixed-race stepchildren in their own extended family - learned that Sellers was out in January and had been hauled back into jail a few weeks later they were shocked.

Angela said: "It shows that he should not have been out in the first place. I felt physically sick when I was told that he was out already."

Sellers had been sentenced to three and a half years for manslaughter.

The Dalys have been denied criminal compensation too.

Nathan Philippo of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority said: "The evidence that shows that Ryan's conduct provoked the incident when he started to verbally abuse another group of people, this led to the physical confrontation in which Ryan was killed."

Angela said: "This means that if I swear at you and you kill me, that it's somehow my fault. This is not right."