The families of around 2,000 dead children whose body parts were removed without proper consent are launching a high court bid for compensation against the NHS.

Each family is seeking £5,000, which is on a par with the compensation given last year to the families of children whose organs were removed at the Alder Hey children's hospital in Liverpool.

The Daily Express reports that they will claim in the high court next Monday that the health trusts involved offered them just £1,000 compensation.

One of the parents, Ruth Webster, whose baby daughter Ellen's organs were retained by Leeds General Infirmary, said she and other relatives had been left with no option but to take court action.

"We have no other way to get closure or any kind of satisfaction," she told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

"We need to be treated fairly. Other families in other areas have been offered substantially more than we were offered and it just seems so unfair that they are saying their children were worth more than ours."

One of the Alder Hey parents, Paula O'Leary, has backed the new compensation bid.

Ms O'Leary, who refused an offer of £5,000 in compensation from the Liverpool hospital 18 months ago, said: "If you offer one parent £5,000 in compensation, then you have to offer it to all parents who have suffered the same thing.

"Everybody deserves exactly the same. This has never been about money for any of us but all our children died and we all went through the same pain, so it is only fair that everybody is offered the same amount of compensation."

Mervyn Fudge, a solicitor representing 1,500 of the families, told GMTV: "Acceptable offers were made to the Alder Hey parents but not to the parents in this group and they are left with no alternative but to seek redress in the court.

"A small level of compensation has been offered but this is not acceptable to the families. As I say, they have no alternative but to proceed."

Mr Fudge told BBC Breakfast that there were 2,150 plaintiffs seeking compensation for their grief and suffering.

According to the solicitor, the NHS said the body parts were removed as part of properly done postmortem examinations and were either "left over or taken for research purposes".

The cases are believed to predate a census of hospitals across Britain, following the Alder Hey scandal.

A Department of Health spokesman said: "Following the Alder Hey cases, the chief medical officer carried out a census of the NHS to find out the extent of organ retention and those results were published in January 2001.

"This practice has now been stamped out across the NHS and the human tissue bill, which is currently going through parliament and responds to the Alder Hey, Isaacs and Bristol inquiries, will ensure that legislation is in place to prevent any further organ retention.

"We are aware of this case but cannot comment on it any further."

The human tissue bill, which had its second reading in the Commons last week, includes measures to prevent future organ retention scandals such as Alder Hey and Bristol Royal Infirmary where thousands of youngsters' organs were retained without their parents' knowledge.

The bill, which would apply to England, Wales and Northern Ireland, outlines the penalties individuals or institutions could face if they remove organs without the prior consent of the deceased person or their next of kin.

Doctors removing organs without consent would face up to three years in prison and unlimited fines.

A Human Tissue Authority is also to be established to licence and inspect premises and ensure that strict codes of conduct are being observed.