A couple in their nineties who died of drugs overdoses said they wanted to go while their life had meaning.

John Dredge, 93 and his wife Maidie, 91, died at their home in Coggeshall Road, Kelvedon in 1997.

At an inquest today at Chelmsford Coroner's Court their daughter Susan Mather said she had heard her parents talk of suicide.

She said: "My mother often said she would 'bump herself off' before she ended up in a nursing home.

"My father said to me 'if you find me in a chair with a bottle of whisky and some pills walk away and leave me alone'."

Mr Dredge, who was terminally ill with bladder cancer, was found dead in bed on July 12. His wife was found with him and taken to Colchester General Hospital. She was released after treatment but was found dead the same day.

Essex Coroner Malcolm Weir recorded an open verdict as he said it could not be proved beyond reasonable doubt the couple had taken their own lives.

He said the evidence showed they had died of a drugs overdose and there were no suspicious circumstances.

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