Brum kids ‘struggling to breathe’ at schools

GUIDELINE-BREACHING POLLUTION RISKING HEALTH OF 290,000 PUPILS

- STEPHANIE BALLOO News Reporter

EVERY one of Birmingham's 506 schools are failing air quality guidelines, putting 290,000 children at risk of serious, long-term health problems.

Areas including Ladywood, Erdington and Perry Barr are among the worst affected in Britain, with children there struggling to breathe, coming to class tired or missing school altogether because of the air they breathe.

Worryingly, 22,571 children in Birmingham are exposed to air pollution that is more than double the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, putting them at increased risk of asthma, heart disease and stroke.

Many grow up in areas where toxic air damages their lungs before they even reach school, a new Health Equals campaign has revealed.

Across the UK, toxic air, alongside other issues including poor income, unstable jobs and unsafe homes, is contributing to lives being cut short by up to 16 years.

However, only 41% of people in the West Midlands are aware the air where they live is damaging their health.

Ibrahim Ali, a schoolteacher from Perry Barr, was forced to step back from his career for the sake of his own health. He witnessed first hand the struggles his pupils faced in classrooms surrounded by poor air.