MORE than 60 women have come forward to say they were raped by gynaecologist Rodney Ledward, says a solicitor.

The women are seeking compensation from the health authority. The deadline for them to join a High Court action for damages was at the weekend.

Solicitor Richard Vosper, who is representing the women, said: "There are now more than 60 women who claim Ledward raped them. Some of them say he raped them several times over a number of years.

"The women are not making their claims for the money. They want the health authority to recognise what Ledward did to them. Many of them have daughters, nieces and granddaughters and they do not want it to happen to them."

Ledward, formerly of Saltwood, near Hythe, was struck off the medical register in this country for a series of medical blunders at the William Harvey Hopsital, Ashford and the private St Saviour's Hospital, Hythe. His botched operations ruined the lives of many women.

He died in Ireland 2000 at the age of 62. The incidents alleged by the women are claimed to have happened at the William Harvey Hospital, Ashford; the Royal Victoria Hospital, Folkestone; Buckland Hospital, Dover; and Deal Hospital, while Ledward worked there between 1980 and 1996, the year of his suspension.

Mr Vosper said the High Court would, next month, fix a timetable for the group action.

The authority's chief executive, Stephen Walker, said it would point out to the judge that none of these allegations was made while Ledward was alive.