A class action legal case has been launched against a subsidiary of the mining firm Anglo-American over an abandoned lead mine in Zambia.

Lawyers representing a group of women and children say more than 100,000 people may have been poisoned by toxins from the site in Kabwe.

Millions of tonnes of waste remain at a dump, known locally as "Black Mountain", more than 25 years after the mine was closed.

Anglo-American said no claim had yet been served against it, but insisted any legal action would be vigorously defended.

The firm pointed out that the mine was owned for more than 20 years before its closure by the Zambian government.