The £1million price to the British taxpayer of caring for the world's fattest man

The world's fattest man has told how the breakup of a relationship with an older woman spurred him to binge eat his way to 70 stone. But it is the British taxpayer who must be the one feeling heartbroken.

Paul Mason, from Ipswich, was given life-saving bypass surgery last year and now weighs a moderately slim 37 stone. But his care bill costs taxpayers an estimated £100,000 a year and is supposed to have topped £1million over the last 15 years.

The 50-year-old former postman, who now travels by motorized wheelchair after being bedridden for years, claims his gargantuan size was not down to greed but the heartbreak he went through in his youth. He ate 20,000 calories a day - 10 times the recommended intake for a man. £100k-a-year care costs have racked up £1m bill for taxpayers.

His breakfast alone would be sufficient to exhaust the appetites of most normal people, comprising a complete packet of bacon, four sausages and four eggs complete with bread and hash browns.

Lunch would involve quadruple portions of fish and chips along with two kebabs while Mr Mason would munch on roast dinners, pizza, curries and more chips for his evening meal.