Melissa Ibbitson, 19, gets through 11 stone of ketchup a year [CATERS]

I eat so much of the stuff - I dread to think what it's doing to my body. Melissa Ibbitson

Melissa Ibbitson, 19, gets through nearly 70 kilograms of tomato ketchup every year, working her way through three bottles a week.



It’s the equivalent of her own bodyweight, 11 stones.



The theology student from Lincoln is so addicted to the condiment she walks out of restaurants which don't stock the sauce.



Melissa said: "I started eating ketchup when I was a kid and we first went to McDonalds.



"I can't remember how it became such an obsession but now I can't live without it.



"My friends get really embarrassed when I ask for 12 sachets for my meals at the student's union, and I'll get extras to take home with me.



"I eat so much of the stuff - I dread to think what it's doing to my body."

A special label made for Melissa's birthday [CATERS]

Melissa has been a ketchup fan her whole life, but her addiction really kick-started four years ago and she now gets through three bottles a week - which adds up to a tonne every year.



The tomato sauce-addict says she dare not think about how much she spends on the sauce - but with the average bottle of ketchup costing £1.85, the average year's supply sets her back about £300.



She said: "Heinz tomato sauce is my favourite, but as a student I sometimes can't afford to be picky.



"I would rather have a brand that isn't Heinz than no ketchup at all.



"I pick up sachets anywhere I can - the union, the pub, fast food chains - it's the best way to keep my costs to a minimum."

Melissa's obsession with the sauce has no limits - she had a birthday cake shaped like a ketchup bottle last year and even gets ketchup-themed presents for Christmas.



She owns an "I love ketchup" tea towel, a personalised ketchup bottle and a ketchup-bottle shaped tin.

Melissa gets through three bottles a week of ketchup [CATERS]