Terminally ill and elderly patients suffering unbearable pain should be allowed a to commit suicide with the help of their doctor, people in Brighton and Hove believe.

A poll of the city's residents found the overwhelming majority agreed in assisted suicide, where terminally ill patients were expected to die in less than six months.

A poll conducted by Kindle found 76% of 1,000 city residents agreed doctors should be able to help a dying patient in pain to end their life.

Most residents also agreed elderly people suffering from serious, but not terminal health problems should also be allowed help dying if it was what they wanted.

When asked if “a mentally competent adult should be legally allowed to receive a doctor's assistance to die if they are very elderly and suffering unbearably from a variety of serious health problems that they will not die from and it is their persistent request”, 35% said they strongly agreed and 32% said they tended to agree.

The survey also found that half of residents had never heard of a living will, which tells doctors the medical treatment they would like to receive if they could no longer communicate. Less than one in ten people already had a living will.