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London (AP) - A British court has confirmed a high level of air pollution as being partly responsible for the death of a little girl.
Forensic doctor Philip Barlow said in his verdict before Southwark Coroner's Court in London that nine-year-old Ella Kissi-Debrah died of asthma and contributed to the "excessive air pollution" to which the girl had been exposed for years.
The decision is considered groundbreaking because, for the first time in the UK, air pollution could be one of several causes of death on a death certificate.
Southwark Coroner's Court rules cases from several boroughs of London.
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Little Ella died of an asthma attack in 2013.
She had lived with her family only a few meters from South Circular Road, one of the most heavily traveled streets in the metropolis.
In the three years before her death, the girl had to be hospitalized almost 30 times with seizures.
At a measuring station around a mile (1.6 kilometers) from Ella's parents' house, according to researchers, pollution levels were measured over and over again in the years before her death that far exceeded the applicable EU limit values.
Ella's mother, Rosamund Kissi-Debrah, had long fought for pollution to be recognized as the cause of her daughter's death.
"We now have the justice that she deserves," said Kissi-Debrah on Wednesday.
The case is also important for many other children who are still walking around in bad air.
High air pollution has long been a major problem in the UK capital.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan hailed the decision as "groundbreaking" and said it had to become a "turning point".
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 201216-99-718647 / 3