A 420 pound (191 kg) British man was diagnosed by doctors as too heavy to have a job because he could fall and crush work colleagues, the Burton Mail reported Monday.
Barry Fowers, 51, from Staffordshire, western England, worked until October last year as an assembler fitter, the paper reported. However he was edged towards voluntary redundancy after insurance analysts decided his weight posed too great a risk to himself and others.
Fowers' wife Shirley, a home care assistant said: "One of the main reasons he volunteered to take the pay-off was because he was classed as a potential danger to himself. Also, he was a potential risk to his work colleagues in case he fell on them."
Fowers was initially put on incapacity benefit, but was later deemed fit to work by the U.K. Department for Work and Pensions and told to sign on for unemployment benefits -- despite having a doctor’s sick note.
For the past six months he has been getting by on £65.45 ($101) a week in benefits. However, as of August 24 he was informed his allowance was reduced to £21.65.
Shirley Fowers said: ’I can’t afford to keep him. I may as well pack my husband’s bags and chuck him on the street.’
