IPSWICH: Former world’s fattest man Paul Mason has ventured outside for the first time in months after he lost a colossal 20 stone in a year.

Mr Mason, from east Ipswich, who will feature in a documentary to be shown on Wednesday night, once tipped the scales at around 70 stone, and was classed as the fattest man in the world for a time.

Although he lost some weight, doctors forced him to lose even more in advance of his gastric bypass surgery in February, and with a smaller stomach and strictly-controlled diet, he is now thought to be around 40 stone.

It has been reported that he is now able to leave his house and has been spotted out and about in his specially-adapted wheelchair – something the 50-year-old, who has been bed-ridden for nearly a decade, was unable to do before his surgery.

His old 20,000 calorie-a-day diet – where a typical lunch could be a takeaway of four large cod, two meat pies, four battered sausages, six large portions of chips with mushy peas, curry sauce and washed down with two litres of cola – has been replaced by a strict 2,000 calorie diet including tiny portions of lean chicken and steak with vegetables and fruit salad.

And his team of NHS carers have been forbidden from making trips to the local takeaway for him.

But the former postman’s drastic lifestyle has caused controversy, as a national debate broke out over whether the taxpayer should fund his �100,000 operation and �2,000-a-week care.

The Evening Star has received dozens of letters and web comments since we first broke the story of Mr Mason’s health problems – some sympathising with his condition while others criticised the cost of his care to the taxpayer.

Mr Mason, who lives in a specially-adapted bungalow in Ipswich, has been disowned by his sisters because of his extreme eating, which they say cost their mother Janet her house as she remortgaged to afford his food bills.

Sister Louise Hammond, 44, who lives in Felixstowe, told a national newspaper: “I haven’t spoken to Paul since he has had his surgery.

“We have nothing to do with him – and we don’t want anything to do with him either.”

n What do you think of Mr Mason appearing on television? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk.