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Firemen were forced to don gas masks and protective hazmat suits while rescuing a bedridden 25-stone man - because he had not washed in five years.

Neighbours believed their block of flats, near Stuttgart, Germany, had been targeted in a chemical attack when rescue workers arrived in full biohazard suits.

But they were actually there to rescue a morbidly obese gentleman, who was found in a pile of rubbish after a neighbour heard a tapping on her ceiling.

(Image: www.7aktuell.de/Daniel Jüptner)

One firefighter, who had to smash down the 65-year-old's apartment door, described the smell as "absolute hell".

He said: "It was knee deep in rubbish, from rotting pizza boxes to old food and tins... and vermin rustling about.

"The smell was indescribable."

The man told rescuers he had been living on take-away meals delivered to his apartment, and had not been able to wash for five years.

(Image: www.7aktuell.de/Daniel Jüptner)

Too fat to exit through the door, he had to be lowered by crane to a waiting ambulance.

Workers were later seen disinfecting their clothing and hosing off equipment used hoist the man out.

A neighbour told a German newspaper: "We had no idea what kind of state his apartment was in, but we got a whiff of it after firemen opened the front door."