British users of Baycol, the anti-cholesterol drug that was withdrawn after possible links to more than 100 deaths worldwide, should hear next month whether they have won legal aid to sue Bayer, the German manufacturer.

The first class action in the UK against the manufacturer could collapse without funding from the Legal Services Commission, the successor to the Legal Aid Board. However, the application for legal aid has already been turned down once and John Watkins, a solicitor with Hugh James Ford Simey, which is bringing the action on behalf of 30 users, is appealing against the original decision in an effort to keep the possibility of suing Bayer alive.

Mr Watkins is representing 30 Britons that complained of adverse side effects, ranging from liver and kidney problems to heart failure. UK investigators have so far uncovered four suspicious deaths that may be linked to use of Baycol, known as Lipobay outside the US. No link has yet been conclusively proven between the drug and the deaths.

The case represents the first attempt to bring a multiparty action on behalf of British patients. So far Bayer has denied knowledge of any British fatalities connected with the drug.

It is alleged that the drug gives rise to a serious muscle-wasting condition known as rhabdomyolysis that, in some cases, can lead to life-threatening kidney failure.

Writs against Bayer, which analysts suggest could lead to compensation payouts of $ 10 billion (Pounds 6.9 billion), have already been lodged by German and American users of the prescription drug, which was withdrawn by Bayer in August 2001.