THE family of a woman shot and paralysed by police nearly three decades ago, triggering the 1985 Brixton riots, took their battle for legal aid to Downing Street yesterday.

Cherry Groce was paralysed below the waist when she was accidentally shot by police seeking her son Michael during an early morning raid on her home. She died in April 2011, having spent 26 years in a wheelchair.

Her family presented a petition of more than 129,000 signatures at Number 10, demanding legal aid for her inquest this summer.

Inspector Douglas Lovelock, the marksman who shot Ms Groce, stood trial in 1987 charged with inflicting unlawful and malicious grievous bodily harm and was acquitted.

Ms Groce’s inquest is due to take place in June but her family’s request for legal aid has been denied.

The family stated in the petition: “Without legal aid we will be financially excluded from participating, which means we are not able to adequately and effectively take part in such a complex case and it is unfair to expect us to do so while the other three interested parties are being publicly funded.”

Ms Groce’s son Lee Lawrence said: “For three decades we have trying to get answers to what happened to our mother. Now we have 130,000 people backing us on our Change.org petition, our appeal cannot be ignored any longer.

“The Prime Minister has the power to say our call for legal aid is in the public interest.

“It will not bring our mother back but it will bring her justice.

“She waited her whole life for justice, we owe her that.”