A MAN dying a slow death today insisted he would not take the easy way out and commit suicide - because it was a sin.

Michael Dolphin, 58, spoke out after a Euthanasia Bill, which could give terminally ill people the right to be helped to die, passed a second reading in the House of Lords.

The former mechanic, who won Stagecoach Bus Driver of the Year in 1997 and 1998, said assisted suicide is morally wrong.

Terminally ill Mr Dolphin, who can not use his limbs because he has motor neurone disease, said he did not agree with the views of campaigners for a change in the law to make assisted suicide legal.

Their case was highlighted earlier this year when motor neurone disease sufferer Reg Crew, from Liverpool, travelled to Switzerland to receive assistance to die as it is not illegal there.

And sufferer Diane Pretty went to the High Court trying to win the right to die before the disease claimed her life.

The disease is a progressive condition which causes muscle wastage. It normally takes two to four years to run its course and there is no cure.

At the moment anyone who assists in a suicide in the UK could face criminal charges.

The Patient (Assisted Dying) Bill has been passed by a second reading in the House of Lords and will now go to committee stage.

Mr Dolphin used to drive the minibus route between Blackburn and Accrington, but just a year after winning his second award he was diagnosed with the disease.

But with the help of his wife Maureen, a former nurse, he has made the most of his days.

He said: "People are going to make a decision to go to Switzerland to commit suicide, but to me that is wrong. Suicide is a sin. You're better off spending the money on a holiday in Florida."

Mr Dolphin supports professional decisions to end the lives of those in terrible pain. But he said: "It cannot be a personal decision. They have got to have the support of two doctors and the rest of the family when there is no possibility of them coming round."

Mr Dolphin's symptoms started when he couldn't lift his foot to put his socks on one morning. He visited a specialist in hospital on Wednesday, October 24, 1999, and was diagnosed by Friday.

Yet, he considers himself fortunate because the disease affected his feet first.

He said: "My outlook is that I got up this morning and I am not much different from yesterday, so why worry about tomorrow."

Mr Dolphin is dependent on Maureen, 57, for washing, dressing and eating.

She said: "Michael has got this tremendous positive attitude that has seen him through."

Tomara Langley, from the Voluntary Euthanasia Society, said: "The legislation going through the House of Lords is very specific in saying that someone will only be ever helped to die if it's their own personal choice."