A father-of-four claims to be the first person in the UK to catch all the Pokémon Go characters available in Britain - along with a bonus international character hatched from an egg.

Sam Clark lost two stone after walking the equivalent of five marathons as he collected 143 of the virtual characters.

The 32-year-old, a founder of Cyberjam Gaming in Southampton, Hampshire, posted a YouTube video to announce his triumphant, writing: "I think this to be the first full set in the UK but I could be wrong."

The electrical engineer said that he had spent almost "every waking hour" playing the game since it was launched on July 6 during which time he had walked around much of Southampton and Gosport.

He said: "It's been a long, old slog, I walked about five marathons, 225km, to do this. I have lost two stone, I can put on jeans that I haven't worn for six years, the last time I tried I couldn't get them over my legs.

"I am not obsessive, I have a full-time job, I have a wife and four kids, it's just fun. I didn't do it for the kudos, I reached 100 and thought I would carry on to see if I could get all of them and I put up the video to see if I was the first in the country and it appears I am because no-one else has come forward."

In the video, Mr Clark explained that he had collected all of the 142 characters available in the UK but had also managed to hatch an extra character, Tauros, which is normally only available in the US, from an egg.

Mr Clark said that his success had brought him a degree of fame, both good and bad, adding he had received many insults for his hobby.

He said: "I have been called some really nasty names, the internet has been it's normal golden tap of love. People have been calling me a virgin, that I've never seen a woman in my life, but my wife and kids will disagree with that."

But he said there had been many upside: "I have lost two stone getting outside with this game, probably two stone that I have put on sitting inside playing other games," he said."

Sam Clark lost two stone collecting all 142 UK Pokémon Go characters plus a bonus egg. Credit: PA Photos

He praised the reality game, which involves finding the virtual characters in real world locations, describing it as "a really social game."

He said: "We had 200 people come along to a meet-up. I was in the park earlier and I was mobbed by people, I had like a fan group and I had one girl asking to take a selfie with me.

"I also got a message from a woman who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after seeing a road accident and she said the game had enabled her to get outside and I and my friends suffer from anxiety and helps us get outside."

Mr Clark also dismissed criticism of the game for putting youngsters into dangerous situations.

He said: "The game warns players to be aware of their surroundings and I bet more children have been injured by cricket balls hitting them on the head this summer."