Fire brigades were called out over 2,000 times to rescue stuck obese people in the past three years, figures show
This means crews are having to help trapped overweight people around twice a day
FIRE brigades have been called out at least 2,145 times to rescue the obese in three years, figures show.
It means crews are scrambled around twice a day extracting trapped overweight people.
Call-outs often involve rescuing obese and super-obese patients from their homes so they can be taken to hospital.
Each call-out costs the taxpayer around £400 — which is nearly £1million since 2015.
At least a dozen fire brigades have also spent £100,000 on specialist equipment, including lifts and slings.
They sometimes need to remove walls, windows and door frames.
Many have also bought 40st dummies to help them in training exercises.
The true numbers are likely to be much higher, as only 28 brigades — around half — responded to the Freedom of Information request.
Mid and West Wales said they have performed around 150 rescues in the last three years, while Cleveland has sent out more than 100 crews.
More than two-thirds of men and almost six in ten women are overweight or obese.
Tam Fry, chair of the National Obesity Forum, said: “It’s inevitable that rescues will rise.
“If successive governments had tried to deal with the problem, we wouldn’t be in this situation.”
Tory MP Kevin Foster said: “A joined-up approach educating people about diet would prevent many of these incidents from taking place.”
Chippie's No1 for fat
ENGLAND has topped the world’s fat chart when it comes to traditional dishes — with fish and chips the most calorie and fat-laden.
The average chippie meal was found to contain 802 calories and 50g of fat.
But Scotland’s dish of haggis is one of the lowest with 210 calories and 11g of fat, a study of 30 nations by cruise specialists Bolsover Cruise Club found.
The Netherlands had the lowest content with its Stammpot — mashed potatoes with vegetables like spinach, onion, carrot and sauerkraut — having just 143 calories and 1g of fat.
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