New partnership in South to tackle air pollution linked to thousands of deaths every year

WATCH: A new initiative to tackle air pollution is set up while parents tell of the effect poor air quality has on their children, as ITV News Meridian's Derek Johnson reports

A new partnership has been set up to tackle what experts say are "alarming levels" of air pollution in the South, linked to more than 40,000 deaths a year in the UK.

Last figures show that it accounts for more than 1 in 20 deaths annually in Portsmouth.

Meanwhile exposure to particulate matter alone leads to an estimated 110 deaths a year in Southampton.

Clean Air South is led by health professionals and wants to encourage policy makers to clean things up.

Research shows that air pollution contributes to thousands of deaths a year in the UK. Credit: ITV News Meridian

A key supporter is Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah whose nine-year-old daughter Ella became the first person in the UK to have air pollution cited on their death certificate after a fatal asthma attack in 2013.

Rosamund said: "Since her death, there's been numerous research.

"Air pollution has been linked to cancer, heart attacks, this is a whole life cycle events and we believe that if you clean up the air there will be less barriers on the National Health Service."

170724-Ella became the first person in the UK to have air pollution cited on their death certificate.

Both Portsmouth and Southampton have strategies to reduce emissions - a key polluter is traffic.

Meanwhile in Southampton, trials are continuing to find better treatment for children suffering from asthma which is often triggered by poor air quality.

Nikita Ward, 13, is one of those in the trial receiving an antibody injection - part of a severe asthma trial here at Southampton General Hospital for those who don't respond to other treatments.

Her mum Noreen Ward said: "Sometimes it just comes on and she's in the back of an ambulance before you know it."

Nikita Ward, 13, is one of those in the trial receiving an antibody injection. Credit: ITV News Meridian

''Nikita can now properly stop panicking and lead a bit more of a normal life. And since coming to Southampton, things are getting under control."

Professor Graham Roberts at the University of Southampton said: "We now know that pollution is a major driver for the development of asthma, also triggering asthma attacks around the south.

"You might think it's lots of beaches, but actually we've got big industry, we've got the port because you see lots of pollution and that causes our patients of asthma lots of problems every day of their lives."

Clean Air South is preparing a report into the current state of air quality across the South.

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