Bristol solicitors have seen a huge increase in the number of parents being taken to court for not paying private school fees.

Veale Wasbrough, based in Orchard Lane just off Denmark Street which specialises in school fee recovery, said there had been a 33 per cent rise in the number of claims brought by schools against parents in the last year.

It is fighting 2,468 cases against parents – up from 1,846 in 2008.

Tabitha Cave, the firm's head of school fees recovery, said schools were being "more effective" with their credit control.

She said: "Any business in the recession will tighten up on credit control and schools are no exception."

Failure to pay fees can result in the expulsion of a child from school.

Nicholas Marten, chairman of the Independent Schools' Bursars Association, said: "If parents are in difficulty, we do all we can to help them.

"At some stage there has to be an acceptance by parents that they are paying for a service and if they can't pay – and schools have used up all their bursary funds – they will have to withdraw their child."