By Derek Watson
The Express

GRANGEMOUTH, Scotland —Taxpayers  face a GBP 1,600 bill after firefighters were repeatedly called out to lift an obese man too heavy to move himself.

A 10-man crew in two fire engines went three times inside a week to 41-stone Robert Marsden's councilowned home.

On one occasion they were called to move him from one side of his bed to the other.

Called a fourth time, they were stood down and told to return to base before reaching unemployed Mr Marsden's ground floor flat in Grangemouth, Stirlingshire.

Central Scotland Fire and Rescue Service refused to put a cost on the call-outs but insiders estimated them at GBP 400 a time.

Union leaders last night called for an urgent review of procedures for helping obese members of the public as obesity levels soar. Almost two-thirds of Scottish adults are overweight with more than one in five classified as obese, putting an increasing strain on the NHS and other resources.

FBU branch secretary Gordon McQuade said: "Firefighters will always help in medical emergencies.

"But this tied up two fire engines and 10 firefighters to move someone two feet across a bed." Mr Marsden, 40, has daily visits from council carers who help him get up, wash and dress.

He spends hours each day in bed, with sandwiches made for him by his carers, watching videos.

He hit back at suggestions he was a drain on resources, saying: "I don't know what the fuss is about.

"The firemen came here, did their job and once they were finished they went to their next one. Sometimes I slide to the floor in my living room, and it's hard to get back up.

"I try not to make a habit of ringing for help, but sometimes there is nothing I can do. I'm grateful to the fire service.

"There are people up and down the country just like me. I can't explain how I became like this." A spokesman for Central Scotland Fire and Rescue Service said: "We are in negotiations with the Scottish Ambulance Service and other care agencies to establish protocols, procedures and the provision of equipment when dealing with such incidents."

Dr Gareth Davies, NHS Forth Valley medical director, said: "The NHS is dealing these days with an increasing number of very obese people who represent physical challenges when they require treatment."

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