A retired civil servant who suffocated his seriously ill wife in a "mercy killing" has been spared jail.

Sidney Eric Norton, 86, killed his beloved Betty, 84, after struggling to cope as her sole carer after declining help from social services.

He had told his GP weeks earlier they had agreed to die together after 57 years of happy marriage.

Norton finally carried out the killing on November 2 last year, smothering his wife with carrier bags after she was taken to Lewisham Hospital in southeast London with stomach pains.

The pensioner told his family he had tried take his own life too but had not managed it.

He was originally charged with murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter after the prosecution accepted his judgement was affected by the stress of looking after his wife.

The Common Serjeant of London, Judge Brian Barker QC, sentenced him to nine months imprisonment suspended for 12 months.

He said: "You had been married for 57 happy years and you have been described by all as a loving and devoted couple.

"Taking any life is a great crime and there must be a mark of public disapproval. I accept the last thing you would have wanted was to do this and you were totally dedicated to your wife's welfare.

"It is clear you were under considerable strain. This occurred within a unique set of circumstances relating to your wife's deteriorating condition."

Norton interrupted the sentence to say: "All I would like to say is from the time this first happened, everybody that I met, police, people in court, have been so good. I would just like to thank everybody who has supported me."