Sunday was a good day for Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debra, she says.

After successfully funding more than £25,000 in just over three weeks to cover legal fees, the Hither Green teacher and clean air campaigner will be able to make a case to the high court to grant a new inquest into her daughter’s death.

Ms Adoo-Kissi-Debra was given permission to apply for a fresh inquest after she delivered a 100,000-signature petition to attorney general Geoffrey Cox calling for a new hearing.

This came after new research into Ella Kissi-Debra’s 2013 death showed her frequent hospital admissions coincided with spikes in illegal levels of air pollution around her home, 25m from the busy South Circular Road.

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Ms Adoo-Kissi-Debra’s lawyers said the original inquest held in 2014 did not investigate the potential impact of air pollution, with the cause of Ella’s asthma never established.

Ella’s mother said she was “exhausted” since hitting the £25k mark but was full of thanks to the 1,093 people who had donated, many giving £5 or £10.

This showed the cause was meaningful to a many people who had contributed what they could, she said.

The fund is still clocking up donations, and is currently at £26,730.

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Further donations are welcome and will go towards legal costs which are expected to be more than £25k, she said.

But finding answers and pushing politicians to consider the effects of air pollution weighed heavily on her shoulders, she said.

This was a particularly difficult time of year for her family, with Ella’s birthday and the anniversary of her death both this month.

Her mum said: “But who else was going to do this? Who else is able to communicate this?

“The 15th of February is the anniversary of her death, and before that we had her birthday so we know her anniversary is coming up.

“It was good to hit the target, but the anniversary always hangs heavy, it is a heavy day we dread.”

The Holbeach primary pupil died in February 2013 from acute respiratory failure after years of coughing fits and seizures, and 27 visits to hospital.

A report, obtained in April 2018, said air pollution levels at the Catford monitoring station one mile from Ella’s home “consistently” exceeded lawful EU limits over the three years prior to her death.

Lawyers will make their case to the high court before February 18, asking that the original inquest is quashed on the basis of new evidence, she said.

But for the moment Ms Adoo-Kissi-Debra is “praying what happened to Ella doesn’t happen to other children” and hopes Ella’s story is spread far and wide to spread awareness of the effects of air pollution.

“Lewisham has the second highest rate of admissions for asthma [in London] only beaten by Croydon,” she said.

“We need to see action.”