Family and friends of a Burntisland stabbing victim walked by candlelight to his grave last night.
Barry McLean was just 27 when he died in May last year.
As his family prepare to face another Christmas without him, they held a candlelit procession in his memory.
They walked from the Sands Hotel to Barry’s grave, where they sang the carol Silent Night.
The electrician’s devastated father, Alan McLean (49), said: “It’s just going to be a bad time of year, the festive season, because Barry should be here with us. He should be here beside his small son and partner.
“Hopefully people will get the message from this and make sure they are not going to get involved with knife crime, or any violent crime, because the impact it has is immense.
“There is a huge void in our lives and nothing will ever fill that void.”
He continued: “We felt we had to put the tree up for the grandchildren.
“We’ve got to make it special for (his son) Connor because he doesn’t have his daddy, but we’ve been dreading Christmas and New Year.”
He added: “We’ve got Barry’s photos up and every time Connor comes up we say ‘that’s your daddy’.
When he’s older we’ll sit him down and explain to him exactly what happened.”
Student Sean Kitchener went on trial at the High Court in Edinburgh for murder.
Mr Kitchener admitted “poking” Barry with a kitchen knife, but made a plea of self defence. The jury found him not guilty.
Mr McLean is campaigning to prevent other families going through what they have endured.
In October, he led a march outside the Scottish Parliament to call for action on knife crime.
Around 100 supporters joined family and friends of the McLeans on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile.
“We’re starting to get in touch with the families of victims and we’re joining together to get the message across.
“Until there is a very strong deterrent we are going to continue seeing these tragedies every day of the week.”
He is also calling for tighter controls on knives.