Paul and Sandra Dunham taken to hospital ahead of US extradition

A British couple due to be extradited to the United States to face fraud and money laundering charges have been taken to hospital.

Paul and Sandra Dunham, from Northampton, had been due to report to a London police station at 10:00 BST before being flown out of the country.

They had fought and lost an extradition battle over concerns about their health and possible treatment in US custody.

The condition of the couple is not yet known.

Police went to their home in Windingbrook Lane at about 07:15 and forced entry to the property, a spokesman said.

BBC Radio Northampton reporter Tom Percival said the couple were put in separate ambulances.

Mr Dunham walked into an ambulance with "limited assistance", with his wife being brought out of the house under blankets and in a wheelchair, he added.

The couple had previously told the BBC they could be driven to suicide if they were extradited.

Mr Dunham, 58, had been chief executive and president of Pace, a US company manufacturing soldering irons for the electronics industry.

Police were called to the home of Paul and Sandra Dunham after concerns were raised for their welfare

He was indicted on 13 counts of fraud and money laundering by a grand jury in Maryland in December 2011.

Mrs Dunham, also 58, is accused of aiding and abetting him.

They have previously said they "vehemently reject" the allegations and that they fear their extradition could see them remanded in the US "with murderers and rapists" for more than a year before any trial.

Mr Dunham told BBC Radio Northampton on Tuesday that he and his wife could possibly be granted bail by a court 24 hours after arrival, but without being able to take any money into the US they would not be able to afford to live.

Their appeal against extradition was rejected by both the High Court and the European Court of Human Rights earlier this year.

They were due to attend Belgravia police station at 10:00 BST on Thursday before being taken to Heathrow Airport to meet US marshals to be extradited.

Police were called after Paul Dunham and his wife failed to answer the door to the media at their home

The Home Office has yet to comment on whether extradition proceedings have now been delayed.

The High Court hearing in February was told the couple's lives had been "shattered" by the legal proceedings they face.

It heard they had lost their jobs, home and assets in the US and were declared bankrupt in the UK, causing their mental and physical health to suffer "severely".

The couple worked in the US between 1999 and 2009.

The couple were due to hand themselves in to police in London earlier