A loving couple who "couldn't bear to be apart" died at a Swiss assisted dying clinic after sending emails to their cherished family members to inform them of their decision.

Neither Michael Posner, 97, nor his wife Ruth, 96, were suffering from a terminal illness, but they chose to die together as they couldn't stand the thought of being separated after 75 years of being married.

The couple, from Belsize Park in north London, sent an email to their "Dear family and friends" on Tuesday (September 22), explaining their decision. The email read: "So sorry not to have mentioned it but when you receive this email we will have 'shuffled off this mortal coil'.

"The decision was mutual and without any outside pressure. We had lived a long life and together for almost 75 years. There came a point when failing senses, of sight and hearing and lack of energy was not living but existing that no care would improve.

"We had an interesting and varied life and except for the sorrow of losing Jeremy, our son. We enjoyed our time together, we tried not to regret the past, live in the present and not to expect too much from the future. Much love Ruth and Mike."

Ruth, a survivor of the Holocaust, was honoured in a statement by the Campaign Against Antisemitism issued on Thursday. It read: "We are heartbroken to learn of the passing of Ruth Posner BEM, Holocaust survivor and educator, and her husband Michael.

"Thank you, Ruth. You were an inspiration and a shining example of how to use one's voice for good in this world. You will be greatly missed. May their memories be a blessing."

Karen Pollock CBE, Chief Executive of The Holocaust Educational Trust, said: "Ruth was an extraordinary woman. She survived the Radom Ghetto, slave labour and life in hiding under a false identity. By the end of the war, Ruth and her aunt were the only surviving members of her family.

"After a dazzling career in theatre and dance, Ruth decided to begin sharing her testimony as a response to rising levels of antisemitism in the UK. Although then in her eighties, she made it her mission to speak to as many young people as possible about her experiences during the Holocaust.

"She hoped that the leaders of tomorrow would learn the lessons of the past. Ruth was one of a kind. Full of charisma and warmth, she left an impression on everyone she met. We will miss her."

Ms Posner arrived in Britain at just 16, having used forged documents to escape the Warsaw ghetto. During her three-year period in hiding, she masqueraded as a Catholic pupil while her relatives perished at the Treblinka death camp.

Unable to speak English upon her arrival, she pursued a dancing career and enrolled at the London Contemporary Dance Theatre.

Following theatre arts studies at Hunter College in New York, she secured membership with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Ruth earned recognition for several roles, including Leon The Pig Farmer and Love Hurts, and also appeared in Casualty and The Ruth Rendell Mysteries.

In 1950, she tied the knot with British national Michael, and his career as a chemist allowed them to travel together.

Holocaust survivor and husband 'die at Swiss clinic' for heartbreaking reason - Daily Star