AN emotional vigil marking the one-year anniversary of the death of Fife man Joseph Sneddon has taken place.

The 37-year-old died at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy on April 8, 2022, two days after he was admitted suffering a mental health crisis, his family's lawyer Aamer Anwar said.

Mr Sneddon, a father of two from Ballingry, had been restrained by police for nearly four hours and his uncle, James Scougall, has claimed that "nobody seemed to give a monkey's" about him in his final hours.

Family and friends, including Mr Sneddon's sisters, gathered on Friday at the main entrance to Victoria Hospital to remember Joseph and place a placard and flowers there.

Organisers Police (Scotland) Angels say the memorial will be regularly checked upon and will not be removed.

Sandra Gallagher, from the group, led the vigil and told attendees: "This is a peaceful gathering and a mark of respect to raise public awareness on the first anniversary of the death of the man Joseph Sneddon, honouring his life and paying respect to his family and friends.

"The shrine that we leave is left in the Lord's good name to remember and respect the life of Joseph Sneddon."

Mr Sneddon’s family was told in the early hours of Friday, April 8, last year that his heart had stopped and medics worked on him for half an hour but could not bring him back.

Upon arrival at the hospital they saw two police officers at the nurses’ station, which was close to his bed.

Police phoned later that day to tell the family they would be visiting but, at 4.07pm on April 8, local police said it would be taken out of their hands and was with the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) who investigates deaths in police custody.

The family claim they were told it was "complicated" when they asked if Mr Sneddon’s death was being treated as a death in custody.

Police (Scotland) Angels work with families whose loved ones died while in police custody, including Sheku Bayu, Marc Hamilton and Stephen Campbell, who each came into contact with Kirkcaldy police.

In November, Joseph Sneddon's family was told his cause of death was “sudden death in a man with a significant acidosis following a prolonged period of struggling and restraint”.

After obtaining a copy of the post-mortem examination report, which is said to have had 11 redacted pages, they found that Mr Sneddon had been restrained for “at least a four-hour period” and had been very agitated and "extensively fighting" against the restraints.

Following a meeting with Lord Advocate, Dorothy Bain KC, regarding the case in February, Mr Anwar said: "The Lord Advocate was told by the family that they have been tortured by the lack of information as to how and why Joseph Sneddon met his death.

"The Lord Advocate said the narrative of restraint of Joseph Sneddon is critical to determining if there is any potential criminality on behalf of the police officers, security guards, and the Victoria Hospital, and the Crown Office wanted to ensure that the narrative was accurate and nothing interfered with the integrity of their investigation.

"The Sneddon family are determined to fight for justice and the truth for Joseph, however long it takes."

Dorothy Bain KC stated: “I would like to thank the Sneddon family for meeting with me and for sharing their experiences. I was able to update them on the initial and on-going investigation into Joseph’s death and I listened carefully to what they had to say.

“The Crown is committed to the thorough and effective investigation of all deaths which occur in legal custody.

“The Crown have engaged and updated the family in the course of the investigation, and are committed to continuing to do so as the investigation continues.”