The Government will increase funding to local authorities and impose new legal targets on air pollution in a bid to prevent further deaths.

In response to a coroner's prevention of future deaths report, ministers have agreed to increase the Air Quality Grant scheme for local authorities by £6m a year and launch a public awareness campaign about air pollution.

The report was published after the coroner ruled exposure to excessive air pollution contributed to the death of schoolgirl Ella Kissi-Debrah in 2013.

A consultation on new legal limits on air pollution will be launched next year.

The Government is developing a more sophisticated population exposure reduction target, with a new monitoring network to capture more detailed air quality information across the country.

Environment secretary George Eustice said: ‘Today's response is part of a much wider cross-government effort to drive forward tangible and long-lasting changes to improve the air we breathe, as well as doing more to inform the public about the risks.'