When Alan and Sylvia Sinclair die they don't want it to be the end of their life.

The couple plan to have their bodies cryogenically frozen and stored until the time arrives when medical science has developed enough to revive them.

The couple have everything they need in their home in Peacehaven for the treatment they will require before being transferred to the US.

This includes a mobile unit containing dry ice and a machine to administer CPR, which is used to push the dead person's blood around the body and replace it with a suspension liquid to preserve the body.

The body is then transported to one of two storage facilities in the US where nitrogen is used to deep-freeze it at a temperature of minus 196C. Technically, the couple can stay that way for thousands of years until the possibility of revival arrives.

Mr Sinclair, 67, has spent hundreds of thousands of pounds since he first became interested in cryogenics about 20 years ago.

He said: "I saw a TV programme about it and it seemed an interesting alternative to being buried or cremated so I looked into it.

"I was initially sceptical, thinking it might be some sort of crazy US scheme but the more you read and learn about it you realise just how much of it is based on science.

"So much research has been done into it. It seems worth the gamble to me. I prefer the idea of being frozen to being burned or left in the ground to be eaten by worms.

"This gives me the idea of a future and for me and my wife that is a good thing."

Mr Sinclair, who worked in an electronics company and ran a nursing home with his wife before retiring, said he found the whole idea of cryogenics fascinating.

He said: "Some people refer to it as cheating death and many aren't too sure about it but when you think about it we are cheating death in some sort of way all the time.

"If you go around saying you shouldn't cheat death then you might as well close all the hospitals, stop doing transplants, stop giving cancer treatments and stop doing operations to save someone's life.

"Things are also developing and progressing all the time as well. People are producing babies from test tubes, creatures are being cloned and work is being done to stem the ageing process.

"Why shouldn't we believe that one day in the future, if everything has been preserved and protected, a person could not be revived? It is certainly worth a try."

Mr Sinclair said the idea of waking up in the future was an exciting one.

He said: "It would be extraordinary and like starting all over again.

"People say the idea frightens them but it fascinates me."

Mrs Sinclair, 57, plans to do the same as her husband.

The couple's four children have all grown up but are supporting their parents.

Mr Sinclair said: "They have not signed up for anything like this themselves but they know we have and are happy with that decision."

It can cost between £20,000 and £120,000 to have your body cryogenically frozen but there are insurance schemes available which make it cheaper to sign up for the process.

At the moment only two firms offer the service - the Cryonics Institute and Alcor, both based in the US.

About 140 people are currently frozen and a further 1,000 around the world have signed up, about 100 in England.

Mr Sinclair said: "People are beginning to show more of an interest and we are getting more and more inquiries about it every year."