A PETITION to introduce a victim's right to appeal to Scottish law has been set up by the family of murdered schoolgirl Paige Doherty.

More than 300 people have already backed the plea, which comes as the family's next step in their bid to secure a "fairer justice system" for victims and their loved ones.

The petition urges the Scottish Government to introduce a victims right to appeal if a criminal lodges an appeal against their sentence.

Read more: Paige Doherty law bid officially lodged with Scottish Parliament

In the 15-year-old's case, mum Pamela Munro says, it would have allowed the family to launch an appeal against her killer John Leathem's sentence being lowered when he called for a reduction in his minimum number of years behind bars.

The Clydebank murderer's won his case and saw four years shed from his 27-year sentence.

However, Pamela, who also has four younger children with husband Andrew, believes victims or their families should be allowed to present their arguments to the courts before a decision is made.

The petition states: "Victims and families are failed daily by our dated justice system which is aimed solely at the offender, forgetting the victim exists or existed and went through the trauma personally.

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"Families of deceased victims need to have their say, only then can justice be accepted after all avenues are explored.

"The people of Scotland do not believe in our justice system the way it stands now and families faced with court should be able to speak out."

The plea comes just days after Paige's Law bill was officially launched with the Scottish Parliament.

The bill, created by Clydebank MSP Gil Paterson, calls for a time-limit on how long a body can be held for post-mortem purposes in order to have victims returned to their loved ones sooner.

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Speaking of her latest campaign, Pamela said: "I'm just getting my strength together now to start campaigning to get victims voices heard.

"So many victims and their families are failed everyday by our justice system and something needs to give.

"Everyday people want change because they all know if they ever become a victim they will not be heard."

The Scottish Government has been approached for comment.