The Church of England will conduct an investigation into a former children's home in Kent run by the dioceses in Kent and Rochester that was allegedly responsible for forcing children to take drugs.

The Bishop of Rochester James Langstaff has called for an independent review into the abuse claims at Kendall House in Gravesend, focussing on the period from 1950 to the time of its closure in 1986.

The BBC investigated the claims in 2009, and said there were a number of former residents who had been forced to take drugs, including sedatives and anti-depressants, and who had gone on to have children with birth defects.

Bishop James said in a statement on Friday: "Over a number of years, a number of former residents have raised concerns about how they were treated during the time they were living at Kendall House.

"It is my hope that this review will be of help in pastoral and other ways to all those who have concerns about Kendall House, and will also make clear any outstanding lessons which the Church of England and others need to learn."

One former resident, Teresa Cooper, says she still suffers as a result of the abuse she experienced.

She told the BBC during its investigation: "Every single day I wanted to die".

Cooper left Kendall House in 1984 aged 16 and went on to have three children, all of whom have birth defects. She has campaigned for almost 20 years to publicise the abuse that she experienced in the home.

In 2010 she agreed an out-of-court settlement in which she was paid significant damages, but the Church did not accept liability.

After the settlement Cooper called for Church to conduct a thorough investigation.

"The church has worked with me on an equal level, which took a long time to achieve and I'm quite happy with what they have done," she said.

"But I would like them to investigate what happened, what went wrong and to investigate the drugs that were used that saw girls go on to have children with birth defects.

"There are lots of things the church can do and which I believe is their Christian duty to do, and I would also like a public apology at the Synod."

The panel for the review is currently being selected.

Anyone who would like to contribute to the review can email kendallreview@rochester.anglican.org