A man who was one believed to be 'Britain's fattest' has died aged 37. Matthew Crawford once weighed 55 stone but died last week from sepsis and organ failure..
Matthew hit the headlines when he took up an entire bay on a hospital ward with four beds as he was too obese to move. He also hit the news in 2018 when it was revealed that his care had been costing King's Mill Hospital thousands of pounds, The Mirror reports.
He spent 21 months in the Nottinghamshire hospital. It was claimed at the time that he ordered pizzas and Chinese takeaways that he would eat in hospital, but he denied this.
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Hitting back to claims he was using benefits to order takeaways from his hospital bed, he wrote: "If you all knew the truth you would think different. I've not had a takeaway for months and even before that, I would have one every couple of weeks.
"The only food my mum brings in for me is some haslet and pickle cobs which I have instead of a hospital dinner. I was originally admitted I was seriously ill with sepsis and I took a lot of persuading for them to take me to hospital.
“Social services didn't do anything to help find me a placement for nearly three months until the hospitals legal team got involved.”
His reinforced bed cost the NHS an eye-watering £7,000-a-week to rent, with his overall care estimated at £40,000-a-month. Crawford posed in bed holding a champagne bottle in a previous care home and posted the snap on social media.
When he was charged with assaulting nurses months later, his solicitor said he was too heavy to attend court in Mansfield. Michael Little said: “They do have ambulances big enough to support him, but then the consideration becomes how to get him into court.”
Matthew was convicted in 2018 of assaulting four nurses at a care home near Newark, Notts, and ordered to pay them compensation. His solicitor Michael Little told magistrates he was too heavy to attend the hearing.
It was reported that Matthew had joined slimming world in a bid to lose the weight for good.
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