Guernsey could become the first place in the British Isles to have a suicide clinic under proposals being put to a vote on the island in May.

If pushed through by politicians, it would likely trigger an 18-month consultation period to pull together a legal framework to make the changes.

However, sources have told the Mirror that the plans look likely to get the green light. If so, it could open up a pathway for UK mainland residents to travel to Guernsey to end their life if they so choose.

Campaigners in the UK who have long sought a change in the law to legalise assisted dying are likely to be paying close attention to proceedings in the hope of overhauling the law on the mainland. Currently, patients wishing to end their lives travel to Switzerland, where the practice is legal.

Although Guernsey lies within the British Isles in the English channel and its residents hold British passports, it has its own legislative body and has the freedom to pass its own laws.

Yet the UK Government has powers to intervene if there are implications for the UK, and the matter will go before the Privy Council. The mainland can also oversee legal changes on immigration and defence matters.