World's ex-fattest man crashes wheelchair into ditch

Overweight Paul Mason was rushed to hospital after falling into a ditch near a supermarket. Mr Mason, formerly the world's fattest man, was knocked unconscious and feared to be having a heart attack after the crash near Sainsbury’s in Ipswich.

Firefighters and paramedics were scrambled to help the Ipswich resident, who once weighed 70 stones. Mr Mason was rushed to Ipswich Hospital with a head injury and a suspected broken shoulder, before being discharged.



The drama unfolded shortly before 10am on Friday when Mr Mason, in his late forties or early fifties, lost control of his wheelchair and plunged into undergrowth near Sainsbury’s Warren Heath. Fire crews used special equipment to rescue Mr Mason, who had fallen off a pathway that runs alongside the superstore.

East of England Ambulance Service said he was then taken to hospital in a specially-adapted ambulance for larger patients. Mr Mason, who lives in a specially-adapted Ipswich bungalow, was reported to have lost 37st after having a gastric bypass operation.