A Mum whose twin daughters died after midwives at three hospitals dismissed concerns her waters had broken has been handed compensation.

The medical negligence case was settled as representatives from Basildon, Southend and Kings College hospitals arrived at the High Court for a hearing on Monday.

It comes five years after Eliza and Beth Dunks had their life support machines switched off minutes apart at just six-days-old.

Their mum Elizabeth Dunks, 46, felt let down by the hospitals after calling all three for help when she thought her waters had broken at just 24 weeks pregnant.

The antenatal unit at Basildon failed to return messages, while a midwife from Southend Hospital dismissed her fluid loss as urinary incontinence. Kings College Hospital, in London, also incorrectly reassured her that her waters had not broken.

By failing to diagnose her pre-term rupture of membranes for 18 days, they missed the opportunity to give her steroid injections which could have saved the lives of her baby girls in April 2012.

Devout Christian Mrs Dunks said: “We were angry it went this far because of my age, but we’re glad we can now speak publicly about it.”

“Hopefully this will act as a warning to pregnant women about fluid loss and what to do if it happens to them.

“I’d like to thank our friends and family and the church as well my husband for their support.”

Medical specialist James Cahan, a partner at Thomson Snell and Passmore, represented the Dunks family.

Details of the settlement have not been revealed.

Mr Cahan said: “As a result of the poor conduct of the hospitals throughout this litigation, two things are very clear.

“Firstly, they have caused over two years of additional mental anguish.

“Secondly, they have ended up wasting a significant amount of public money by conceding on the steps of the court. All of this was completely avoidable.

“Regrettably it is all too common for this situation to arise on our cases with the NHS, and due to the amount of public money this wastes, it is currently the subject of a national audit.”

In a joint statement, a spokesman for Basildon and Southend hospitals said: “We would like to express our sincere sympathy to Mrs Dunks and her family, the death of loved ones is a cause of great sadness in any circumstance.”