A man has been told he cannot adopt a child because he is overweight.

Damien Hall was told by Leeds city council that his weight – 24-and-a-half stone – made his morbidly obese.

The council told him his body mass index, BMI, was more than 42 and informed the 37-year-old it would have to drop to below 40 before he could be considered a potential parent due to risks he could become ill or die.

Mr Hall and his wife Charlotte, 31, have been married for 11 years but are unable to have children of their own.

Mr Hall told the BBC he found it hard to lose the weight while under pressure.

"I'm not a couch potato and I don't sit eating takeaways every night. I just feel as though we were only judged on my weight and not all the other good things about us. We don't drink or smoke and we could give a child a happy and safe home," he told Radio 5 Live.

Leeds city council released a statement explaining it had a legal responsibility to ensure that children are placed with adopters "who are able to provide the best possible lifelong care".

"Part of this responsibility is advice for applicants on a range of suitability criteria, including any health and lifestyle issues which may impact on an applicant's long-term ability to adopt," the council claimed.

"Mr and Mrs Hall's application to adopt is still active and they have been given advice on how best to proceed regarding this issue."

The Department for Children, Schools and Families added it did not officially issue any guidance on the maximum weight for people who wanted to adopt.
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