Couple arrested for 'neglect' of 11-year-old son who weighs 15st after doctors raised concerns for boy's welfare

Parents, from King's Lynn, Norfolk, arrested for allowing son to reach 15st

They were questioned in March on suspicion of child neglect and cruelty



Police were alerted by doctors who treated youngster twice in one month

Couple are now on bail, but reportedly in danger of losing custody of son

They claim his weight gain was genetic, saying: 'You can be genetically fat'



Obese: A couple from King's Lynn, Norfolk, have been arrested for allowing their 11 year-old son's weight to balloon to 15 stone (file picture)

A couple have been arrested on suspicion of neglect and child cruelty after their 11-year-old son’s weight ballooned to 15st.

Police stepped in after doctors raised concerns about the boy’s welfare following two visits to hospital earlier this year.

Yesterday the parents admitted they called their obese son ‘Wee Chubby’ because of his size – but blamed genetics rather than his diet and lifestyle.

Following a meeting with social workers this week, the couple have agreed to a letter of intent over the boy’s care outlining what they will do to help him lose weight. If they fail to stick to the terms, legal proceedings will be started to take the boy into care.

The 5ft 1in schoolboy has a body mass index of 41.8 – close to double the healthy level. According to the NHS’s online BMI calculator, the healthy weight range for his age and height is from 6st 14lb to 9st 7lb.

A social services report is said to record that he fell over during a school swimming session and was unable to stand up by himself. It also details admissions to teachers that the boy – who is supposed to be on a strict diet – had eaten takeaways and been to a milkshake parlour.

The boy’s 20st father said yesterday: ‘My son’s always been big. He was born with shovels for hands and spades for feet. Everyone on my side of the family is big.

‘There’s nothing we can do about it. I only eat occasional kebabs. Our son’s favourite snack is steamed broccoli – and he’s still big.’

The father, 49, and his unemployed wife, 43, told The Sun they try to encourage their son to play sport by giving him toy guns to fire in their garden at home.

He also plays regularly on his Nintendo Wii, a computer games console in which players depend on physical movements to control actions on the screen. The couple had signed up to a voluntary plan to tackle the boy’s weight when they were threatened with legal action earlier this year, but it brought no improvement.

Concerns were raised by teachers at the specialist school he attends for help with autism, and the parents agreed to see a social worker.

The 5ft 1in schoolboy has a body mass index of 41.8 - close to double the healthy level. According to the NHS's online BMI calculator, the healthy weight range for his age and height is between 6st 14lb and 9st 7lbs (file pic)

But doctors at the boy’s local hospital called police after he was twice admitted for treatment in March, and officers then visited the family’s home.

The parents were asked to attend a police station voluntarily and were interviewed separately on suspicion of neglect and child cruelty. Both were released on bail.

The boy’s mother, who describes herself as ‘chubby’, said the family were trying their best to help him.

‘The idea they could take away my son scares me so much,’ she said. ‘I’m nothing without my kids. His weight isn’t that much of a big deal … it’s genetics – you can be genetically fat.’