A CLUB promoter, who was spared jail after being found guilty of killing a Hampshire schoolboy with a single punch, is appealing over his conviction and sentence.

Archie Lloyd's family hit out at the news that Sebastian Trabucatti was contesting the ruling of three presiding judges and four jurors at a court in Crete on Tuesday.

The 25-year-old male model was shown leniency by the Court of First Instance in Heraklion, which handed him a four-year suspended sentence instead of the typical immediate custodial term of between five and 10 years for manslaughter in the first degree.

Trabucatti, of Haywards Heath, West Sussex, maintained his innocence throughout the trial and denied ever punching the 18-year-old student, from Micheldever near Winchester, during a row in Malia in August 2015.

He appealed against the ruling immediately, lawyers for Mr Lloyd's family learned on Wednesday.

While the proceedings continued, James and Claire Lloyd were prohibited from collecting their son's belongings - something they planned to do the day after the case concluded.

After initially saying they were relieved that justice had "finally" been served, they have since expressed disappointment and urged Trabucatti to drop the appeal.

In a statement, they said: "(The court) did not believe his testimony, which was proven to be false and inconsistent.

"It is disappointing, when Archie cannot answer for himself, that Sebastian Trabucatti chooses not to accept the unanimous verdict of the judges and jury and take responsibility for his actions but rather use the leniency of the Greek legal system to take the case to appeal.

"Archie's family and friends sincerely hope Sebastian Trabucatti will come to terms with what he has done, accept the guilty verdict, along with the very lenient suspended sentence under Greek law and drop his appeal, hereby allowing us all to rebuild our lives whilst mindful that Archie no longer has his life."

Mr Lloyd had been celebrating the end of his A-level exams with friends on a night out on the penultimate day of an Interrail tour around Europe when he and best friend Andy Hutchinson clashed with Trabucatti in a drunken row in the middle of the street.

The trial heard that Trabucatti punched Mr Lloyd and pushed Mr Hutchinson over at around 5am on August 6 2015, near the Cloud Nine nightclub where he worked on the Greek party resort's main strip.

Trabucatti, his girlfriend and another woman had been driving quadbikes and hooted at the pair to get out of the way on the narrow street.

Feeling this was "excessively loud and unnecessary" the pair shouted expletives to the women, which prompted Trabucatti to get off his bike and demand an apology, the court heard.

The exchange culminated in Mr Lloyd telling him: "One day you'll work for me", before walking off.

He fell to the ground from Trabucatti's blow, hitting his head on the pavement, and did not speak again after the attack, jurors were told.

Paramedics gave him the all-clear but friends found him dead in bed later that morning in the villa they had rented in nearby Sissi.

Trabucatti insisted he only ever slapped Mr Lloyd and did not see him fall.

But this contradicted the evidence of all but one witness at the trial and medical findings which detailed Mr Lloyd's injuries.

Trabucatti's girlfriend at the time, Faye Malcolm, who was present during the incident, said it was a slap but a security guard indicated he was punched.

At an inquest in 2016, which Trabucatti refused to attend, UK coroner Grahame Short recorded a verdict of unlawful killing.

He said he was "sure" Mr Lloyd was "struck in the face", dismissing some of Trabucatti's account.

Having been in tears for most of the trial in Crete, Trabucatti looked relieved when he learned he could walk free from court and received embraces from his mother and defence lawyer.

The next hearing could take up to two years to come to court because of a backlog in cases.

The appeal effectively constitutes a re-trial, when all the evidence must be presented again in front of a different group of judges and jurors, lawyers said.

Kieran Mitchell, of Slater and Gordon, which represents the family, said Mr Lloyd had seen "scant justice" in the Greek legal system, adding: "If Mr Trabucatti does not see sense to withdraw this appeal, it can only continue to prolong the uncertainty for Archie's family and friends that justice has not been seen to be done.

"Further, the ongoing appeal process precludes the family from recovering Archie's belongings, which they have been so desperate to retrieve."

Trabucatti ignored requests for comment outside court after the sentence and has not responded when since asked about his decision to appeal.

Neither his mother, Candina, nor his defence lawyer, Dionysius Verras, responded when contacted.