by Jamie Bullen

jbullen@thekmgroup.co.uk

An obese man believed to weigh around 30 stone had to be removed from his home by more than 15 fire and rescue crew members.

Ambulance staff were called to the property in Patterdale Road, Dartford, at about 2am on Monday.

But when they realised they weren't able to move the overweight patient they had to call for help.

Firefighters from Dartford and the Kent Urban Search and Rescue Team, based in Maidstone, then turned up to assist.

It took more than two hours to move the man before he was sent to Darent Valley Hospital in a specially modified ambulance capable of bearing his weight.

A spokesman for South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) said it could not discuss the nature of the call-out due to patient confidentiality.

Neighbour John Maslen, 86, said: "Quite often we have people come here to take him out.

"It's such a shame. He is a nice guy and very pleasant to speak to."

The man, believed to be in his 30s, qualifies as a bariatric patient as he weighs more than 24 stone.

South East Coast Ambulance Service has spent £2,000 in the past three years modifying two vehicles with wider stretchers to accommodate morbidly obese patients.

A spokesman for Dartford fire station confirmed it had been the first such call-out of its kind this year but had five cases throughout last year.