A dad living with terminal cancer shot himself to avoid more suffering.

Norman Ward had "tried everything" offered by doctors in the 15 years he lived with prostate cancer which had spread around his body and led to a terminal diagnosis.

But eventually the pain brought on by his declining health led to him taking matters into his own hands.

The 75-year-old, who lived in St Alban's Close, Gravesend, fatally shot himself in his garden using a legally owned shotgun in June last year.

Norman's son Gareth says his dad was in a "world of pain" and had phoned him informing him of his intentions just moments before his death.

Gareth, who lives in Essex, called 999 but it was one of his two sisters, who live near their father, who sadly found the grandfather-of-seven before emergency services had arrived.

The family are now sharing his story in support of a campaign calling for a change in the law to give terminally ill people who have been given a life expectancy of under six months the option of an assisted death.

Gareth, 45, said: "It was such an awful terrible thing that we all had to live through and that my sister had to see.

"Like a lot of people my dad said I will stop it before it stops me. People say this because they want to have an element of control.

"But as time went on it spread to his bones and his lungs and the last five years were particularly awful. "

Norman had tried every medical option available to him in the 15 years he battled the disease.

Initial treatments had contained the spread of the illness but the final five years of his life were marked by pain and discomfort.

"He was in a world of pain," said son Gareth. "The last round of chemotherapy was particularly punishing.

"The last time he came to my house he was awful it broke my heart."

On one occasion a few years ago Norman fell while out walking his dog Jack in marshland near Shornemead Fort.

He broke his leg and crawled for an hour in the mud before he was eventually found by a passer-by.

Even then Gareth said his dad was reluctant to cause any fuss and discharged himself from the hospital days later.

Born in Cardiff to a family of 13, Norman initially served in the Welsh Guards.

During a visit to Gravesend he met and later married Gareth's mum Valerie in 1969. She died of a heart attack in 2001.

Norman was active in the local rugby scene, playing for Old Gravesendians and even made appearances for the British Army team.

Throughout his life he worked in construction and loved spending time with his family and friends.

Before his condition deteriorated, Gareth says his dad was sociable, independent and enjoyed helping them with DIY projects.

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"Dad had gone from being very determined and self sufficient to being a shell of a man who was constantly in so much pain," Gareth said.

"He was on 30 different tablets a day and there was nothing that they could have done with him. The only thing they could do was increase his morphine.

"In the end we had to send him to bed with two syringes of the drug because he would wake up in agony."

Gareth believes his family could have been spared the trauma of the tragic circumstances that followed if he had been allowed to die with medical assistance.

He takes some comfort that his dad is no longer in pain but wishes another choice had been made available to him.

Norman's wake was held at the The Jolly Drayman pub, one of his dad's favourite local drinking spots.

"I sat there thinking how much he would have loved it, " added Gareth. "If assisted dying was an option we could have sat there together and celebrated his life and he could have then gone off.

"Everyone talks about Dignitas in Switzerland. If that was an option we could have talked about it."

He added: "I'm not calling for blanket euthanasia but where people are terminally ill and are of sound mind – like my dad – they should have a choice."

The Office for National Statistics is expected to publish data shortly on suicides involving terminally ill people.

Pressure group Dignity in Dying is currently campaigning to change the law on assisted dying for terminally ill, mentally competent adults.

Earlier this month the government responded to a petition launched by the group, which has more than 40,000 signatures.

It said: "The Government’s position is that any change to the law in this area is a matter for Parliament and an issue of conscience for individual parliamentarians rather than one for Government policy."

Parliament has so far voted against proposals to allow lawful assistance with suicide, most recently in September 2015 when the House of Commons rejected a bill by 330 votes to 118.

There are differing ideas on where the line should be drawn, what safeguards should be in place and for who.

Others feel strongly that the law should not be changed and that safeguards will not necessarily give enough protection to vulnerable people who may feel pressurised.

To sign the petition click here or find out more information about the campaign click here.