Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah: Coroner calls for air pollution law change after girl's death

A coroner has called for a change in the law after air pollution led to the death of a nine-year-old girl.

Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, who lived near the South Circular Road in Lewisham, south-east London, died in 2013.

An inquest had found air pollution "made a material contribution" to her death.

Coroner Phillip Barlow said there is "no safe level of particulate matter" in the air and called for national pollution limits to be reduced.

In a report to prevent future deaths, Mr Barlow said the government should reduce legally binding targets for particulate matter pollution to bring them in line with World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines.

Responding to the report, Ella's mother Rosamund Kissi-Debrah called on the government to act on the coroner's recommendations, warning "children are dying unnecessarily because the government is not doing enough to combat air pollution".

Particulate matter consists of tiny particles known as PM2.5. These have a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres across - that is one-four-hundredth of a millimetre, or about 3% of the diameter of a human hair.

PM2.5 particles are so small they can lodge in the lungs and even pass into the bloodstream. There is evidence they can damage blood vessels and other organs.

An inquest into Ella's death also found levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) near her home exceeded WHO and European Union guidelines.