Former world's fattest man suffers serious head injuries after crashing wheelchair into a ditch while having heart attack



Paul Mason, 50, is down to 37st from 70 but still needs mobility scooter

The former world's fattest man was rushed to hospital yesterday - after being knocked unconscious when he crashed his motorised wheelchair into a supermarket ditch.



Medics feared Paul Mason - who once weighed 70 stone - was having a heart attack after the freak accident outside the Sainsbury's supermarket in his home town of Ipswich.



Mr Mason, 50, who now weighs 37 stone, sparked a full-scale 999 rescue after being knocked out in the incident.



Seriously injured: Mr Mason was treated for head injuries after his motorised wheelchair plunged into a ditch Hospital bosses said Mr Mason is likely to be in hospital 'for some time' after the fall Firefighters and paramedics scrambled to the scene and rushed Mr Mason to hospital in an ambulance specially-strengthened for obese patients.

He had lost control of his wheelchair - which he cannot get around without - and plunged into undergrowth by the Sainsbury's in Warren Heath, Ipswich. RELATED ARTICLES Previous

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Next Sweets are 'good for children and may stop them from getting fat in later life' 'Wonder pill' that claims to contain your entire five-a-day quota of fruit and veg goes on sale in UK Share this article Share The former postman was rushed to Ipswich Hospital with serious head injuries and a suspected broken shoulder, in front of baffled shoppers.

Eye-witness Frank Worster, 67, was the first to go to his aid. Mr Worster, of Ipswich, said: 'I was walking up the main road and I saw him going down the path and next thing I heard was 'argh'. Treatment: The obese Ipswich man had to be rushed to hospital in a specially-strengthened ambulance

Out the house: Mr Mason lost 20 stone last year, allowing him to leave his house using a motorised wheelchair

'I thought, 'what the hell is going on?' 'I could see the wheelchair and nothing else. He was not moving.

'He was face down and making moaning noises.



'By the time the first aiders came, he'd passed out. The first aider said she could not feel a pulse.'

East of England Ambulance Service said the huge man was taken to hospital in a specially-strengthened ambulance for obese patients.



Mr Mason was being treated in hospital last night and was expected to be kept in for some time.



Richard Wood, station manager at Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service, said: 'We were asked to attend a gentleman who had fallen from a wheelchair, who was feared to be unconscious and in cardiac arrest.



'Because of the gentleman's size they were concerned for his health and the ambulance service had specialist equipment.



'We assisted the ambulance service using their equipment.'



It emerged in January that Mr Mason - who at 20,000 calories a day at his heaviest - is suing the NHS for failing to help him as his size soared.

Mr Mason is estimated to have eaten around 20,000 calories a day when he hit his biggest weight of 70 stone

Mr Mason starred in a Channel 4 documentary when camera teams followed him earlier this year as he had gastric bypass surgery which saved his life in the nick of time.



It emerged that his care bill costs taxpayers a staggering £100,000-a-year and is reckoned to have topped a stunning £1m over the last 15 years.



Junk food addict Mr Mason ballooned to 70 stone after consuming about 20,000 calories a day - 10 times the recommended intake for a man.



He now travels by motorised wheelchair after being bedridden for years.