Legal action has been launched in the US by the parents of the victims and survivors of the Berkeley balcony collapse.

Six students died and 7 were injured when the balcony gave way in June, because the joists supporting it had suffered severe dry rot due to water damage.

The Irish Times reports legal actions have been filed in California against 35 named defendants seeking punitive damages.

The cases are being taken against various property and construction-related firms associated with the apartment block where the collapse took place.