In 2015-16 there were 944 incidents where rescuers were called in to relocate severely obese people, compared with 709 in 2012-13

The number of obese people being removed from buildings by firefighters because they are too large to move independently has risen by a third in three years, according to new figures.

Lifting equipment and special slings are often used, while windows, walls and interior fittings have to be removed on occasion to facilitate extraction because of the individual’s bulk.

Figures obtained by BBC Radio 5 Live show that in 2015-16 there were 944 incidents where rescuers were called in to relocate people who were severely obese, compared with 709 in 2012-13. There has been an increase in incidents every year since records began to be kept of bariatric (obese) rescues.

Case histories obtained from UK fire and rescue services included several where firefighters were asked to help remove a deceased obese person to an undertaker’s vehicle.

Tam Fry, spokesman for the National Obesity Forum, told the BBC that the problem is worsening because obese people are getting larger. “This is not about more people being obese. This is about those who are already obese now getting to a size where they now need assistance.”