A couple who wrote to the BBC to say they had chosen to take their own lives and criticised British laws on assisted suicides have been found dead at their home, police said last night .

Dennis Milner, 83, and his wife Flora, 81, from Newbury, Berkshire, sent a letter and statement to the BBC saying they had "chosen to peacefully end our lives" to avoid "a living death". The letter was received by the broadcaster yesterday . The couple's bodies were discovered on Sunday, Thames Valley police said.

In the note, the couple said they hoped to draw attention to the "serious human dilemma" faced by those who want to end their lives. In handwritten notes below a typed section of the letter, Dennis Milner wrote: "Arranging this so that it does not fail has been very difficult and traumatic for us. This need not and should not be the case."

In a statement with the letter they said that they had enjoyed "a happy, loving and exciting life" and thanked the NHS for extending their lives. But they said they had "just one serious and disappointing criticism of our society".

"Today we have been denied what we believe to be our basic human right - to terminate our own lives, in our own home, at our own choosing, with our loved ones around us, without anyone having to face any legal possibilities or harassment," they said.

The couple's daughter, Chrissy, told the BBC her parents were in good health but wanted to end their lives before they were unable to care for themselves. "I think they made this decision because they'd had a very positive life. They'd enjoyed life," she said. "They'd always said they wanted a positive death, they wanted a good death."

She said she and her brother, Nigel, supported their parents' decision. The siblings had been informed of their parents' intentions to end their lives but the couple had never mentioned a specific date, saying only: "We won't be here for Christmas."

Sarah Wootton, chief executive of Dignity in Dying, a group which the couple supported and which has campaigned for a change in the law on assisted dying, said they was "saddened" by the news.

"Both were supporters of Dignity in Dying's campaign to change the law on assisted dying for terminally-ill adults," she said. "Their case highlights some people's deep concerns about suffering unnecessarily at the end of life, and the lack of a safeguarded choice which can prompt people to take drastic action through fear."

Thames Valley police said: "Police were called to two unexplained deaths at an address in Enborne Road just before 9am on November 1."

A post mortem examination has been carried out but further toxicology tests are required. Under current legislation, those who "aid, abet, counsel or procure" someone to end their own life can be prosecuted and jailed for up to 14 years.

The director of public prosecutions issued guidelines in September designed to make it easier for those helping someone taking their life to know if they would face charges. About 100 Britons are believed to have ended their lives at the Swiss clinic of the right-to-die organisation Dignitas.

Switzerland is considering restricting or banning organised assisted suicide to reduce so-called "death tourism".