London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 21, 2026

Britain's 50-stone fattest man is hoisted out of his flat by CRANE

Britain's 50-stone fattest man is hoisted out of his flat by CRANE

Jason Holton, 30, from Camberley, Surrey, signed up to JustEat in 2014 and spent £30 a day on takeaways, including doner kebab meat, chips and chicken chow mein.

The mother and full-time carer of Britain's 50-stone fattest man today spoke of her hopes he will 'switch to salads' after he was hoisted out of their third-floor flat by a crane after developing a £10,000-a-year takeaway habit.

Jason Holton, 30, from Camberley, Surrey, has been housebound for five years and spends £30 a day on JustEat takeaways including doner meat, chips and chicken chow mein washed down with 1.5 litres of orange juice and five cans of diet coke.

His 52-year-old mother, Leisa, watched on as her son was evacuated by 30 fireman in a seven-hour operation, which involved structural engineers reinforcing the floor of their two-bed maisonette in case he fell.

She told MailOnline today: 'He always had a bit of an obesity problem. From when he was a child he was ok and not too bad. Most of it was five years ago when he piled on more weight after developing some mental health problems.

'He's been housebound and unable to get out of the house. I'm hoping he'll change things and just keep to salads and not go for takeaway foods. He's already spoken about that. I hope this might wake him up.'

Mr Holton's health problems mean he is unable to work, leaving him on benefits including £197.60 a week Employment Support Allowance and a £112.80 Personal Independence Payment. His mother also gets £200 a month to help with council tax.



Leisa was told her son could die of a heart attack in five years if he does not take serious action to curb his 10,000-calorie daily diet.

The worried mother insisted she has tried to stop him ordering takeaways with his debit card but believes he has an 'addiction' to fast food.

She added: 'Seeing him being lifted out of the flat was very worrying because they said he could actually stop breathing in the move. So I was just glad he was alright.'

'He's still in hospital at the moment, where he's been for nearly two weeks, although he hasn't had an operation yet.

'I haven't been able to visit because of the coronavirus. It's bad and really hard when you are worried about a member of your family but can't go and see them.'

Mr Holton has described how his ballooning weight and various mental and physical health problems had left him depressed. He spent weeks 'waiting for my heart to give up' before eventually calling the emergency services.

Mr Holton - who previously lost several stone at a New Jersey fat camp, is being treated for Lymphoedema, a chronic condition caused swelling in his groin and legs.

It is not known what NHS treatment Mr Holton could receive, but a complex Lymphoedema operation with follow up treatment can cost £4300 a year, according to the British Lymphology Society.

Meanwhile, bariatric surgery to remove excess fat typically costs the NHS £10,000 to £12,000 a patient.

Speaking from his hospital bed, he told The Sun: 'It was amazing because it was the first time in six years I'd experienced fresh air.

'I was given codeine to take away the pain from the crane straps, but all I remember is the breath of fresh air and the breeze rushing over my body.'

The operation, on October 11, was witnessed by a man who was walking by on his way from the pub and recorded what happened.

He told MailOnline: 'At first I thought it was a training operation or something, I didn't realise they were actually moving a person until later.

'All the firefighters set up their equipment before smashing the window and winching him down.'

Mr Holton said he once asked the NHS for gastric band surgery but was turned down. Instead his mother was told to rip up the debit card he uses to buy takeaways.

He became the UK's fattest man after 65st Carl Thompson died in 2015.

The 33-year-old, from Dover, had been housebound for more than a year after doctors warned he needed to lose 70 per cent of his body-weight to survive.

When his mother died of a brain tumour in 2012, Mr Thompson turned to junk food as a means of coping with his grief – despite already being obese.

His weight went from 30 stone to 65 in three years, leaving him unable to care for himself.

Consuming a staggering 10,000 calories every day – four times the usual daily amount for a man – Mr Thompson binged on Chinese takeaways and pizzas he had delivered to his door and claimed to have spent £10 a day on chocolate

Unable to walk or even dress himself, he was bathed and cooked for by a team of NHS carers.


Mr Holton's mother said his severe weight problems developed around five years ago


The winching operation - seen here in video grabs - involved 30 firefighters and took seven hours


Mr Holton was lifted out of his two-bed maisonette in a seven-hour operation that involved structural engineers propping up the floor in case he fell. The window he was removed from is circled in red


Mr Holton became the UK's fattest man after 65st Carl Thompson (pictured) died in 2015

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Twenty-Nine US States Take Meta to Trial Over Alleged Child Addiction on Instagram and Facebook
Former Scottish National Party Executive Peter Murrell Jailed for Five Years Over £400,000 Embezzlement
Moderna and Merck's Personalized Cancer Vaccine Succeeds in Historic Late-Stage Melanoma Trial
Prince Harry and Meghan to Move Back to Britain With Their Children
England and Wales Have Fewer Than 1,800 Prison Places Left for Men
Royal Navy to Accelerate DragonFire Laser Deployment Against Growing Drone Threat
Northern Ireland Approves Five Hundred Million Pound Belfast Harbour Expansion
Great British Railways Takes Full Control of Avanti West Coast as Rail Nationalisation Reaches Final Stage
UK AI Safety Institute Calls for Mandatory Security Audits of Advanced AI Models
Scotland Secures Three Billion Pounds for Floating Offshore Wind Hub in Aberdeen
Government Overrides Local Councils to Approve Green Belt Housing Across Southern England
UK and EU Move Toward Mutual Recognition of Food Standards to Ease Cross-Channel Trade
Government Plans Multibillion-Pound Private Healthcare Expansion to Cut NHS Surgical Backlogs
Bank of England Signals Faster Rate Cuts as Inflation Falls Below the Two Percent Target
Suspected People Smuggler Arrested After Investigation Identified Him
Children's Doctors Warn That Vaping Can Lead Young People to Smoking
Hundreds of Thousands of Students Receive GCSE and Vocational Results Across England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Here Is What Can Never Happen in Your Country: Taiwan Is Giving Money to All Its People Because It Collected Too Much Tax
UK Inflation Rises to 2.9% as Energy Bills Jump
UK Issues New Conduct Guide for Asylum Seekers on Consent and Respect
Moderna Shares Surge After Positive Personalized Skin Cancer Trial Results
UK Markets Watch US National Debt Surpass Forty Trillion Dollars
UK Broadcasters Urge Government to Invest in Digital Participation and Broadband
CVC Capital Partners and Standard Life Launch Two Billion Pound Pension Risk Transfer Venture
UK Private Sector Productivity Growth Accelerates in Second Quarter
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband Condemns Israeli E1 Settlement Tender
UK Watchdog Investigates Trainline, Virgin Atlantic and RED Driving School Over Hidden Fees
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Plan Move to Private Home Outside London
UK Retail Sentiment Improves as Summer Spending Boosts Consumer Confidence
UK Aid Cuts Draw Warnings From Charities Over Humanitarian Consequences
UK Financial Conduct Authority Issues Guidance for Motor Finance Redress Scheme
UK Met Office Launches Aviation Programme to Reduce Climate Impact of Persistent Contrails
Former UK Civil Service Chief Received Record 500,000 Pound Severance Payment
West Midlands to Bring Bus Network Under Public Franchising Model
UK Government Drops Plan to Relax Affordable Housing Requirements After Backlash
UK Reaffirms Military Support for Ukraine Despite Russian Hybrid Warfare Threats
UK Technology Sector Expands Nearly 8 Percent as Digital Industry Outpaces Wider Economy
UK Drought Threatens Harvests Across England and Wales as Food Inflation Risks Persist
UK Government Pledges 442 Million Pounds to End Rough Sleeping by Christmas
UK Government Signals Willingness to Reconsider Digital Services Tax Amid US Tariff Threats
UK Inflation Rises to 2.9 Percent as Energy Costs Threaten Economic Recovery
NHS Hospitals Cancel Surgeries as Extreme Heat Pushes Ward Temperatures Above 40 Degrees Celsius
UK Heatwave Forces Emergency Measures as Wildfire Risk, Hospital Disruption and Drought Intensify
A Sleepless Night on Wall Street: Nasdaq to Begin Nearly Round-the-Clock Trading
"The First in the World": 69-Year-Old Protested Artificial Intelligence—and Went to Jail
Ukraine's Ousted Defence Minister Calls for Wartime Presidential Election
UK Marks Ten Years of Night Tube as London Weekend Usage Exceeds Eighty-One Thousand Journeys a Night
Met Office Issues Thunderstorm Warnings Across Northern Ireland Over Flash-Flood Risk
Frasers Group Raises Stake in Hugo Boss to Nearly Forty-Eight Percent
Scottish Clyde Marine Pilots Prepare for Strike That Could Disrupt Glasgow and Greenock Shipping
×