The case of a severely-disabled 57-year-old man who wants a judge to allow a doctor to "lawfully" end his life reaches the High Court today.

Lawyers want a ruling that a doctor could intervene to end Tony Nicklinson's "indignity" and have a "common law defence of necessity" against any murder charge.

Nicklinson - who is married with two grown-up daughters and lives in Melksham, Wiltshire - had a stroke in 2005 and was left with "locked-in syndrome".

He communicates through the use of a perspex board or by using his Eye-Blink computer and sums up his life as "dull, miserable, demeaning, undignified and intolerable".

He is seeking declarations that it is lawful for a doctor to terminate his life, with his consent and with him making the decision with full mental capacity.

Solicitor Saimo Chahal has said: "This will be a test case and raises many difficult legal, moral and ethical questions about euthanasia."
The case is listed to be heard by Mr Justice Charles for a pre-trial review.