Man is 'too fat to adopt'

Because Damien and Charlotte Hall are unable have children of their own they approached Leeds City Council about adoption.

But they were told that Mr Hall's weight, at 24-and-a-half stone, made him morbidly obese, with a body mass index - or BMI - of more than 42.

In a letter, the council told them his BMI must be below 40 before the couple could be considered as potential parents because of a risk he could become ill or even die.

Mrs Hall, 31, a nanny, has been married to Mr Hall, 37, for 11 years. They have been a couple for 14 years.

Mr Hall works in a call centre and at 6ft 1in says he knows he is overweight.

"It's hard to lose weight under pressure," he told BBC Radio 5 Live's Victoria Derbyshire programme.

"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."

The Department for Children, Schools and Families said it did not issue guidance on maximum weight for potential adopters to local authorities.

In a statement the council said: "The council's adoption service has 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