A morbidly obese man once thought to be the most overweight person in Britain has died of organ failure and sepsis at the age of 37.
Matthew Crawford weighed 55 stone at his heaviest and hit the headlines in 2018 for taking up the space of four hospital beds and assaulting four nurses.
His reinforced bed at King’s Mill Hospital in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, reportedly cost the NHS £7,000-a-week to rent for 18 months.
Several of Matthew’s friends paid tribute to him online, calling him a ‘great lad’ and referring to his nickname ‘Fatkid’.
‘Rest in peace Matthew Crawford aka Fatkid,’ one wrote. ‘At peace with your dad now mate.’
He was declared medically fit to leave for much of his extended hospital stay but could not be discharged due to a lack of home social care.
Matthew was accused of using his benefit payments to order pizzas and Chinese takeaways to his hospital bed, which he denied.
He also attracted criticism for posting a picture of himself clutching a bottle of champagne with his gown on.
An NHS source at the time said medics were ‘sick to the back teeth with the situation.’
‘There’s space for four people who need to be on the ward being taken up by one bloke who doesn’t,’ they told the Mirror.
‘He is taking up much-needed bed space that is supposed to be for ill patients. The situation is madness.’
The Lincoln City fan was finally discharged into a specially adapted care facility in 2019 and passed away last week.
Friends said he joined Slimming World to try and shed the pounds and he did previously respond to his critics, saying: ‘Just want to set the record straight, I don’t spend all my money on takeaways.
‘I might get £300 a fortnight but I spend over 100 quid every fortnight on food shopping. If people tasted the food in this place you would know why I buy my own food.’
