I’ve become very aware of the dangers of air pollution since my son was diagnosed with bronchiectasis

My son Kieran had suffered from coughs in previous winters, but seemed healthy until he started coughing up blood at primary school one day.

I had to rush him to A&E at The Royal London Hospital. They originally thought that he might have tuberculosis, but tests showed that he has bronchiectasis.

The effect of air pollution on his lungs is visible

The doctors can’t tell me what caused Kieran’s bronchiectasis, but I believe that air pollution could be making it worse.

We live right by a main road in central London, and the traffic has got much worse since other routes have been closed. We have to cross that road every day to walk to Kieran’s school, so there’s no way of avoiding the air pollution.

One of the most obvious signs that Kieran is being affected by air pollution is how his phlegm changes colour when we leave London – it becomes visibly clearer when we go on holiday to countryside places where the air is cleaner.

I might have to leave London to stop his bronchiectasis getting worse

Our whole lives are in London, and my work is in London. But if we need to move further out of the city because air pollution is making his lung condition worse, then I’ll definitely do it.

I recently learned that 8,975 people in my area of Tower Hamlets have been admitted to hospital in an emergency due to their lung condition in just a year.

It’s shocking and scary that so many people in my area have to receive emergency hospital care for lung conditions.

People urgently need to take air pollution more seriously

Despite the fact that we live within the Ultra Low Emission Zone, people are still driving lots of diesel and petrol cars into the city. We need to make it easier and cheaper for them to switch to electric vehicles. I own a hybrid car, but I try to cycle where I can.  

We all need to take this issue much more seriously to protect our children’s health.

My three sons are now taking part in a vital research project by the Royal London Hospital to compare the impact of air pollution on patients with bronchiectasis to people without a lung condition.

I'm doing everything I can to help protect our children's lungs

I’ve supported Asthma + Lung UK in the fight for clean air by writing to my MP Rushanara Ali and urging her to back the adoption of air quality targets that align with the levels that the World Health Organization (WHO) say is safer.

I also ran in the 2025 TCS London Marathon and raised nearly £5,000 to support the charity’s lifesaving work.

To find out more about Asthma + Lung UK’s Clean Air campaigns, visit our Clean Air Hub.