A MOTHER is honouring the memory of her daughter as she marks what would have been a milestone birthday following her tragic death.

Summertown schoolgirl Martha Fernback, who died of an accidental ecstasy overdose in 2013, would have turned 21 next Tuesday.

To celebrate her life and inspire conversation, her mum Anne-Marie Cockburn will stage an exhibition at Cowley’s Ark T Centre.

Taking place for one day only this Saturday, from 10am until 4pm, Martha 21 is a collection of 21 items belonging to the 15-year-old - from her dressing gown to her newborn baby-grow.

Ms Cockburn, 47, said: “It’s a milestone birthday and had she have been here, we would be really celebrating it properly.

“The exhibition really feels like a new chapter, a new moment in time to honour Martha.

“I want people to feel inspired and confident to talk about anything they may be struggling with and to know that they’re not alone.

“I’d love families to come, I want everyone to feel welcome to come and be inspired by the life of a young girl who was born and bred in the city that she loved.

“It’s going to be a nice sunny day and I want the atmosphere to feel bright and light and hopeful – it’s about learning from one another.”

Martha, a pupil at The Cherwell School, collapsed in Oxford’s Hinksey Park on July 20, 2013, after taking half a gram of MDMA.

The powder turned out to be 91 per cent pure, delivering a fatal dose.

Summertown resident Ms Cockburn said the phone call she received delivering the news was ‘the moment my life changed forever’.

But she said she is ‘still standing despite it all’ and hoped the exhibition would inspire positive discussions.

She added: “A story like Martha’s gets hemmed amongst the tragedy of it all, but she was so much more.

“She was very funny and bright and always had amazing conversation. For the exhibition I’ve blown up some of her tweets on the wall to show her personality.

“One of them showed she was struggling with some things - that’s important.

“We often discuss teens and dissect their characters, without actually hearing their voices within the dialogue. This exhibition is an opportunity to turn the volume up and give teenagers a say for themselves.

“It’s our turn to listen.”

Ms Cockburn has embarked on a campaign to get drugs legalised so they can be properly regulated, which has seen her visit Downing Street, prisons and countries all over the world to share Martha’s story.

She said: “There is no 100 per cent safe route to taking drugs, but you can reduce the harm if you know what a substance contains and help people to make more informed decisions.

“No substance is made safer by leaving it unregulated on the black market.

“I know some people are terrified of change and can’t visualise what another approach would look like, but I don’t want them to get the phone call I did.

“I have to keep going until something changes.”

For more information about the event, visit http://www.ark-t.org/martha-21-exhibition/