Battle to get 70-stone man to hospital

Doctors and health officials are urgently working out the best way to transport a 70 stone (980 pounds) man more than 150 miles for "life-saving" hospital treatment. Paul Mason, the world's heaviest man, needs to travel from his home in Ipswich, Suffolk, to a hospital in Chichester, West Sussex.

A spokeswoman for Suffolk Primary Care Trust said a number of travel options were being considered including an airlift in an RAF Chinook helicopter. But he would probably be taken by road in an ambulance specially built for very overweight people at a cost of £90,000.

Mr Mason, 48, is said to be "very ill" after his weight ballooned from 45st in 2007 to 70st now. He eats 20,000 calories a day - eight times the recommended maximum for adult males - and has spent the last eight years in bed.



Mr Mason, who has a compulsive eating disorder, has apparently been known to consume three family-sized takeaways in a night.

He was looked after by his widowed mother until she died six weeks ago aged 76. He now has two full-time carers. It is thought Mr Mason will be given a gastric bypass to help bring down his weight.

He became the world's heaviest man last year after 90st Mexican Manual Uribe halved his weight to get married.

Update: You can read all about Mr Mason's lifestyle and appetite, with videos, here and here.