Unmarried couples are to have the same rights to bereavement damages as married couples following a landmark Court of Appeal ruling.

NHS worker Jakki Smith, 59, brought an appeal after discovering she was not eligible for damages after her partner John Bulloch died in 2011.

The fixed compensation of £12,980 is paid out to a spouse or civil partner if a person dies following negligence, such as in medical cases, industrial incidents or accidents which are down to failings by an organisation or individual.

The couple had been together for 16 years when Mr Bulloch, 66, died following an operation to remove a benign tumour on his foot.

An infection had been missed by medical staff and the former prison governor fell ill while on holiday in Turkey.

Ms Smith appealed under the Human Rights Act, arguing that she was being discriminated against because she was unmarried and was being denied her right to a family life, articles 8 and 14 of the European convention on human rights.