One of Britain's most obese men who weighed 66 stone dies from a heart attack at aged of just 22

Liam Johnston had become a virtual recluse at his home in West Lothian

He had gained another 26 stone in less than a year after court appearance



Two fire crews had to cut away part of a door to remove his body



Last year he spoke poignantly of wanting to lose weight before it killed him



He blamed his issues on a period when he was unemployed and homeless

Obese: Liam Johnston pictured last April when he weighed 40 stone. His weight had reached 66 stone

One of Britain’s most obese men - who weighed 66 stone at the age of just 22 - has died of a suspected heart attack.

Paramedics rushed to the home of Liam Johnston on Thursday morning but despite their attempts to resuscitate him, he was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.

Two teams of fire officers had to be called in to help medical staff transport the young man’s body, and part of a door and fence panels had to be removed to move him out of the house.

The case highlights the appalling toll of obesity in Britain - at a time when record numbers are being diagnosed as overweight.

More than a quarter of adults in Britain (26 per cent) are obese, up from just 8 per cent in 1980.



In 2007, an alarming government review warned that by 2050, obesity would affect half of all adults and cost the economy £50billion a year.

In January a report by the National Obesity Forum said those predictions were ‘optimistic’ and underestimated the ‘true scale of the problem’.



Mr Johnston’s weight ballooned from his late teenage years. Having weighed 21 stone by the age of 18 he tipped the scales at more than 40 stone by the age of 21.

Staff who carried out a post mortem examination measured his weight at 66 stone - making him one of the heaviest people ever recorded in the UK.

Ashamed of his size, Mr Johnston had become a virtual recluse who rarely left his house in Livingston, West Lothian.

Last night Mr Johnston’s mother was too upset to discuss her son’s death.

In a poignant interview just nine months ago, Mr Johnston spoke about his desperate desire to lose weight before it killed him and how he hoped to be fitted with a gastric band to help him reach his goal.

At that point, Mr Johnston, admitted he had been ‘chubby’ as a child but had risen to more than 40 stone and was ashamed of his size.

He said: ‘I’m trying to get rid of this weight once and for all. I don’t want to put my family through the ridicule. I’m doing my best to sort my life out.’

He blamed a period where he was unemployed and homeless for exacerbating his weight issues.

He added: ‘I’ve hid myself away from the outside world, ashamed at the size I had become. You’ve no idea how difficult it is to go through something like that. To know that no one was there to talk to, for well over a year.’

In the last year, it is estimated his weight had increased steadily to 54 stone, before reaching 66 stone – one of the heaviest measurements for a man ever recorded in the UK.

Damage: Emergency services had to remove part of a door and fence panels at Mr Johnston's home, pictured

As a result, the embarrassed young man had become a virtual recluse, seldom seeing anyone but family and rarely leaving his terraced bungalow in the last year.

It was there that the ambulance service was called to attend at 7.50am on Thursday and, in turn, sought the assistance of the fire service shortly afterwards.

A total of 12 firefighters from the two engines which attended removed the front door and dismantled part of the house wall and garden fence in order to carry him out to the ambulance.

Yesterday, evidence of the emergency team’s diligent efforts to remove Mr Johnston’s body from the house were still clearly visible, with components of a bariatric bed and pieces of wood from the door frame littering the garden.

Youth: Mr Johnston said he had been a 'chubby' child but his weight ballooned as he grew older

His body was later taken to Edinburgh City Mortuary where a post mortem examination was carried out.

A Police Scotland spokesman said: ‘We can confirm that officers were called to assist the Ambulance and Fire Services at an address in Livingston where a 22-year-old man was taken ill on Thursday morning.

‘A report surrounding the circumstances of his death – which are not being treated as suspicious – will be sent to the Procurator Fiscal at Livingston. His next of kin has been notified.’

People who knew Mr Johnston said he suffered from depression and preferred to lead a sedentary life and play computer games.

He was believed to have a Body Mass Indicator (BMI) of well over 85. The BMI for a person of normal weight ranges from 18.5 - 24.9 and anything above 30 is regarded as obese.

The gastric band surgery was regarded as a ‘last resort’ and is only available on the NHS to treat people with potentially life-threatening obesity when other treatments, such as lifestyle changes, haven’t worked. The procedure is carried out on around 50 obese patients a year in Scotland.

Last summer, Mr Johnston also spoke of his shame after being charged with fraud and being taken to court for using stolen credit card details to order takeaway pizzas.

He said: ‘I felt disgusted with myself. I had shamed myself and my family.’

The sheriff, the fiscal and clerk of court had to convene the first hearing in the police cells complex downstairs because Mr Johnston was unable to climb to courtroom on the first floor.

He admitted ordering four pizza meals, costing around £30 each, and having them delivered to his then home in Whitburn, West Lothian.

After ordering background reports, a sheriff later ordered him to pay compensation totalling £120 to Domino’s Pizza restaurant in Bathgate and produce a receipt.

But Mr Johnston failed to turn up for subsequent court hearings over the last year despite warrants being issued for his arrest, claiming he was ‘unfit’ to attend.

His lawyer told Livingston Sheriff Court at the time that Mr Johnston was unable to get out of his single storey terraced house. The proceedings against him were still outstanding when he died.