A MUM who battled for compensation from a drug manufacturer is among 140 families who have been warned they face a £5million legal bill if they sue the company.

Karen Buck, from Stanmore, and the other families, tried to prove a link between epilepsy medication the mothers took during pregnancy and the disabilities their children were born with.

But six years of preparation for a trial was dashed after the Legal Services Commission withdrew legal aid in October, which Ms Buck says forced the families to withdraw their claims.

Ms Buck and John Coyle, took their 12-year-old daughter Bridget Coyle - who has spina bifida and hydrocephalus, or water on the brain - to the High Court on Friday where they were due to officially withdraw the multi-party action claim.

They were told the withdrawal of legal aid means the claimants are liable for Sanofi-aventis UK's legal costs henceforth, thought to be at least £5m.

The firm said it would not seek to recover the money - but only if the claimants surrender the right to sue the company, its affiliates, or any third party such as a doctor, health authority or prescriber, on the basis of the same facts in the future.

Mother-of-four Ms Buck, 39, of Sandymount Avenue, said: "I think they are rubbing salt into the wound even more so."

She continued: "I'm angry that legal aid pulled out and I'm even more angry that the drug company are digging their nails in. I brought my daughter to court and the lawyers for the drugs company couldn't even look us in the eye."

David Body, partner at the claimants' solicitors Irwin Mitchell, said: "The claimants are understandably angry and it's important to understand the evidence has not been heard in court and put under the strictest scrutiny."

A spokeswoman for the Legal Services Commission, which withdrew the legal aid funding for the multi-party action claim, said: "We have great sympathy with those who claim to have had adverse effects in connection with this medication, but our funding decisions must always be based on solid legal grounds."

A spokesman for Sanofi-Aventis said: "Throughout the duration of this legal action we have been very sympathetic towards the claimants and their families, although we have always believed their case would be unsuccessful. All medicines may produce side-effects through their use.

"We have always provided appropriate information and warnings in relation to the potential side-effects and risks."