Relatives of Joe O’Neill are calling for police to reopen the investigation into his death after an inquest decided the 60-year-old died as a result of a brain injury sustained following a single punch to the face.

The dad-of-four suffered multiple head injuries following an incident in Belfast City Centre, four years ago.

But no one has ever been brought to justice for his death — despite the family forcing the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) to review the case.

The conclusion of an inquest held in Belfast has now given the family fresh hope in their continuing fight to unearth the truth.

Mr O’Neill’s sister Helen Millar, of Moidart Road, attended the hearing along with Joe’s wife Muara and family members.

She said: “We felt that the inquest went in our favour. The coroner looked at CCTV footage and listened to witness statements.

“He is now asking the procurator fiscal to look into this again. We feel this has given us fresh hope and want the case to be re-investigated.

“The coroner said he will get back to us next month to let us know what will happen.

“We feel we’ve waited so long for this and feel vindicated that we’re going to get justice at last. It’s the best we’ve felt about it.

“It been such a relief but we still need answers.” Helen says the CCTV footage finally revealed exactly what happened during the altercation that night.

She added: “The CCTV footage showed that Joe was walking away when he was attacked, but the guy that was accused said he acted in self-defence.

“What we saw on the CCTV was totally different from what we had been told had happened. My brother wasn’t a fighter — he was old enough to be this man’s father.” Mr O’Neill, 60, moved from Port Glasgow to Belfast 20 years ago where he ran pubs in the city. But he frequently returned to Inverclyde to visit his many family and friends here.

A spokeswoman for the coroner’s office issued a statement regarding the findings of the inquest which revealed Mr O’Neill died from a brain injury which came after he received a single punch to the face.

It was decided that this in turn caused him to fall and hit his head.

The statement added: “The deceased died from the effects of a head injury sustained in an altercation with individuals at a taxi depot in King Street, Belfast shortly before 1.30am on 23 October 2011. A violent blow to his left cheek caused him to fall backwards on to the pavement outside striking his head. He was taken by ambulance to the Royal Victoria Hospital where he died the following day.

“The pathologist who carried out the subsequent post-mortem examination established that death was due to the combined effects of a subdural haemorrhage, a brain injury comprising bruising and laceration of the cortex of the brain and secondary swelling of the brain. The pattern of the brain injury, known as a contra-coup injury, is associated with a backwards fall whereby the back of the moving head impacts with a hard unyielding surface such as a pavement.” The post-mortem examination also revealed that facial injuries were consistent with a blow or blows to the face, possibly punching with a fist.

It also showed that Mr O’Neill was hit so hard it caused his cheekbone to fracture and could have been the cause of the backwards fall that ultimately killed him.

Blood samples showed he was heavily intoxicated at the time which could have affected his co-ordination and made him more vulnerable to falling.