A mother has spoken of her desperate bid to find help for her 11-year-old son, who weighs more than the average man.

Ben Jones is 11. He weighs more than 15 stone, wears 42-inch trousers, XXL T-shirts and size nine shoes.

His mother Tina says he is taunted, bullied and laughed at whenever he goes outside, so much so, she’s afraid to let him out.

But, so far, no one has been able to tell her what is wrong with her son.

Ben was born prematurely at 34 weeks, already weighing eight pounds, but when his weight started to grow abnormally aged two, Miss Jones, of Fulwich Road, Dartford, became concerned.

The 43-year-old said: “They were all saying it was baby fat and that it would fall off, but it hasn’t and now he’s massive.”

And Ben is not obese because of a poor diet, his mother claims.

She said: “I grill everything rather than frying, I give him fish and boiled potatoes, and I don’t let him have lots of chips and burgers. He even likes salad."

Ben has been to his GP, who referred the case to specialist dieticians at Darent Valley Hospital, but Miss Jones says their guidelines and advice have so far not worked.

For the full story see this week's Dartford Messenger.