THE mother of a five-year-old girl who was killed after being struck by a car will deliver a petition to Downing Street asking that family members be granted visas to attend her funeral.

Andrea Gada, from Eastbourne, died after being hit by a car in the town on December 17.

Eastbourne MP Stephen Lloyd told the Prime Minister earlier this month that Andrea's grandparents and aunt had been denied access to the UK from Zimbabwe, adding that the Home Office claimed they might abscond.

That decision was upheld by the Home Office last week, which said it had looked at the application again on its "individual merits including any compelling and compassionate circumstances and in line with the immigration rules".

Andrea's mother, Charity Gada, will be joined by family and friends when she delivers the petition to Prime Minister David Cameron and Home Secretary Theresa May at 2pm.

The petition on the change.org website, which has received more than 93,000 signatures, claims that Mrs Gada's family "pose no risk to the country" and that "they simply want to support us and grieve the loss of our beautiful girl".

Mrs Gada's statement said: "My beautiful five-year-old daughter, Andrea, was killed just before Christmas after being hit by a car.

"An unbearable time has been made even worse as the Home Office refuses to give my only living relatives visas to attend the funeral.

She said her local community had helped her raise money so her family could attend the funeral.

Last week, Downing Street said Mr Cameron understood it was a "very difficult situation" for the family and that he would ensure that the case was "looked at very closely".