A Preston girl has been given permission by the High Court to seek compensation from one of Europe's largest drugs firms.

Ruth Monks claims her daughter, Jayne, nine, was left with delayed speech and motor development, and facial abnormalities because of the prescription drug, sodium valproate, she took during her pregnancy to suppress epileptic convulsions.

Almost 100 other children from across the country have also been granted a Group Litigation Order to allow their cases to proceed. I am very lucky to have a lovely daughter, but each day she suffers the damage caused by the anti-convulsant drugs," said the mother.

"While we do everything we can to ensure Jayne has the care and equipment she needs, it is expensive and we feel strongly that the companies whose products caused these problems should face up to the fact they are responsible and should meet the extra costs we face."

The action is being brought against the firm Sanofi-Synthelabo, which markets sodium valproate as Epilim, and also against Wockhardt UK, formerly CP Pharmaceuticals.

David Body, partner at Irwin Mitchell representing the families, said: "The mothers faced an impossible dilemma during their pregnancy. Their choice was whether to control their convulsions by taking sodium valproate, which was known to be potentially harmful to an unborn child, or to stop taking sodium valproate and risk having convulsions, which may have also damaged the baby."

A spokesman for Sanofi-Synthelabo said: "At all relevant times, the product information supplied to doctors by Sanofi-Synthelabo Ltd in relation to sodium valproate provided warnings in respect of possible effects in children born to mothers who take the product during pregnancy.

"This information was approved by the regulatory authorities as consistent with current scientific knowledge."

A spokesman for Wockhardt UK, formerly CP Pharmaceuticals, said the company could not comment for legal reasons.