Police are to investigate the widow of a man who died after committing assisted suicide in Switzerland.

Reginald Crew, 74, of Hunts Cross, Liverpool, killed himself on Monday after suffering from the debilitating motor-neurone disease for more than four years.

Merseyside Police said on Tuesday it was "obliged" to investigate his wife, Win, under British law.

A spokesperson said: "The decision is not a moral one, it is a legal one.

Legal challenges

"We are putting files together and will be talking to Mrs Crew as part of our inquiries.

"The completed files will then be sent to the Crown Prosecution Service who will decide if charges should be brought.

"Consultation has already taken place between ourselves, the CPS and the Coroner's Office in Liverpool on the matter."

Helping someone to commit suicide is illegal in Britain, despite a number of legal challenges.

Former docker Mr Crew was the first UK citizen to take advantage of the more relaxed Swiss laws.

'Humane act'

He died just after 1400 GMT on Monday after taking a fatal dose of barbiturates prepared by a doctor.

Mr Crew faced creeping paralysis if he remained alive and killed himself with the help of the "assisted suicide group" Dignitas in Switzerland.

Swiss law does not state that assisted suicide is legal but the practice is widely considered as a "humane act".

Prosecution is extremely unlikely unless the person helping is proven to be acting out of self-seeking motives.