Tragically, a man believed to be the fattest man in Britain passed away at age 37 from organ failure and sepsis after being taken to the hospital.
Matthew Crawford, who at his heaviest weighed 55 stone, made headlines in recent years after occupying four NHS hospital beds for 18 months as a result of a lack of social care at home.
He is being remembered online by friends as a “great lad” who is “with his father now.”
Nicknamed ‘Fatkid’, his friends reminisced about their time with Mr Crawford in years gone by, with one writing: ‘Sad news I’ve not seen him in years. Quite a lot younger than us If I remember rightly. RIP.’
Another wrote: I”m actually in shock rest in peace matt now your with your dad causing havoc up there just like you use to do. Guna [sic] miss you buddy.’
A third friend said:’Sorry to hear this sad news Matt was a great lad.’
He was checked into The King’s Mill Hospital in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, in May 2018, and it’s estimated that his prolonged stay cost the NHS up to £7,000 a week.
He had been deemed medically fit to go for the majority of that period, but he was unable to be discharged because there was a lack of acceptable social care.
An NHS source at the time told The Mirror: ’Everybody is sick to the back teeth with the situation and it’s about time it was exposed.
‘There’s nothing medically wrong with Matt now but we’re powerless to get rid of him.’
‘There’s space for four people who need to be on the ward being taken up by one bloke who doesn’t.’
Additionally, Mr. Crawford had to be sent to a different section of the hospital when staff members discovered he had a prior conviction for assaulting four nurses at the care facility where he was residing.
However, his mother Linda refuted media rumors that were spreading at the time, claiming that he was routinely placing takeaway orders from his hospital bed.
In December 2019, he was finally able to relocate to a more “appropriate” setting after waiting a year.
A spokesperson for Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Trust said at the time: ‘While we are not able to comment on the care of individual patients for reasons of confidentiality, we can confirm that Mr Crawford is no longer in the care of Sherwood Forest Hospitals.
‘We are pleased for all concerned that he is now in a more appropriate setting.’
The supporter of Lincoln City had previously used his social media accounts to rebut detractors and refute allegations that he was using his benefits to buy takeout from his hospital bed.
He wrote: ‘If you all knew the truth you would think different.’
It was rumored that he had joined Slimming World after his release, however it is unknown whether he had dropped weight during his time in the hospital.
After Birmingham cab driver Barry Austin, 52, who had held the distinction for the previous year, passed away in January of last year, Mr. Crawford is thought to have been Britain’s fattest man at the time of his death.