Seventeen UK gymnasts, all female and now aged between 15 and 43, have launched a claim against British Gymnastics after alleging they were the victims of systemic physical and psychological abuse.

The gymnasts behind the legal claim say there is still an abusive culture within the sport in Britain which must be tackled urgently.

One of the claimants, Claire Heafford, likened coming out of the club gymnastics environment to "leaving a cult".

Sarah Moore, a partner at the Hausfeld law firm which issued the letter of claim, says this is about tackling an existing culture, not just addressing historic allegations.

"Some of the claimants remain very close to the gymnastics community," she said.

"They can see that this isn't a 'past tense' issue. It is being sustained currently - hence, the urgency of acting.

"They have been subject to coercive control behaviours in a power dynamic that made them feel very vulnerable."

Moore said the hope was that British Gymnastics would engage in alternative dispute resolution (ADR), but that legal proceedings would be issued if it did not. A response has been sought before the end of March.

Heafford, the founder of the Gymnasts For Change group and a leading campaigner for change within the sport, spoke about her life as a young gymnast between the ages of 10 and 15.

"There was physical abuse, pushing and slapping," she said.

"Despite training six hours a day we were told every day that we hadn't done well enough, we weren't trying hard enough, they were ashamed of us.

"These belittling, humiliating things were shouted at us on a daily basis."

After one incident which prompted her parents to complain, she said that although the physical abuse stopped "I was basically dropped and considered not (to have) Olympic potential".

She added: "I was then humiliated on a daily basis, and the others were told 'if you don't try hard, you're going to be like her'.

"When you leave, it's a little bit like leaving a cult - you get ostracised, rumours get spread about the reasons you've left."

British Gymnastics said in a statement: "It would not be appropriate or fair to all parties for us to make any comment until we have had the opportunity for it to be fully considered."

The Whyte Review into allegations of mistreatment within the sport of gymnastics in the UK remains ongoing.