Joe Harker
The family of a chemistry teacher who travelled to Switzerland to end his life last year have been remembering their last moments with him.
Alastair Hamilton, 47, travelled to Basel last August to go to the Pegasos clinic which handles assisted dying cases.
He had told his mother he was flying to Paris, and she reported him missing when he did not return as expected.
The search for Alastair was called off when bank records showed he had travelled to Pegasos for the 'voluntary assisted death' treatment.
The 47-year-old's online application form, which was seen by ITV News, showed he had an undiagnosed stomach condition which he said caused him 'pain, fatigue and discomfort' and he said it had 'devastated his life'.
Hamilton had said there was 'no current, definitive medical explanation' for his condition, and that he had not told his family he was going to seek assisted dying.
His mother Judith and brother Bradley travelled to Basel to see where he died along with an ITV crew.
Judith Hamilton, 82, told the broadcaster that she remembered the last time she saw her son.
She and her husband Edward, 85, drove Alastair to Gatwick Airport and believed that he was intending to visit a friend in France.
"He put his arms around me, looked me straight in the eyes and he was smiling," she said of what she did not know at the time were her son's last moments with her.
"And he said 'love you, mum, love you lots, always have, always will no matter what'."
She told ITV that she didn't know it was going to be the last thing he said to her.
She said: "I was so chuffed to think he was picking up his life and getting some enthusiasm, and he was always very affectionate and loving towards me, so it didn't register that these words were his final goodbye."
The Pegasos clinic said they would update their procedures to guarantee that the relatives of people who had been assisted to die would be notified, which the Hamilton family welcomed, though their stance is that Alastair should not have received assisted dying treatment without their knowledge.
Bradley said: "I was robbed of the chance of going there and cuddling him whilst he did it, giving him a kiss goodbye all because these checks and balances weren't in place at Pegasos."
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123.