Families of those jailed after riots in Bradford claim they are facing poverty because many prisoners were the main wage earners.

A campaign was beginning on Thursday to offer support to the relatives of the 46 people found guilty of public order offences after the violence in 2001.

Organisers said the courts handed down "harsh sentences" of up to four-and-a-half-years to make sure their decisions had a deterrent effect.

The formation of "Fair Justice for All" comes two days before the first anniversary of the violence that caused �25m of damage to Bradford.

There appears to be great concern members of the Asian community have been getting the raw end of the deal

Imran Khan, lawyer

It is backed by the likes of lawyer Imran Khan, who represented the family of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence.

Mr Khan was invited to the first meeting of the group to assess whether he can offer legal advice to families.

He told BBC News Online he was concerned about what organisers have told him about the length of sentences handed down.

He said: "From what I've been hearing there appears to be great concern that members of the Asian community in Bradford have been getting the raw end of the deal.

"I will be there to listen and to offer any advice I can. These cases come within a specific context (the riots situation) and at the moment I don't know whether this context was what the courts took into consideration with sentencing."

Campaigners also hope to address wider issues, including the continuing frustrations of young people, which led to the rioting last year that was widely seen as the worst violence on mainland Britain in 20 years.