Manuel Uribe, 42, dubbed "half tonne man", hasn't stood on his own two feet in years.But, after losing nearly 40 stones, he is hoping to be able to stand to marry hairdresser Claudia Solis. "We are in love, and this year my birthday wish is to be able to stand when we get married," he said. Mr Uribe, who now weighs 50 stone, has not been able to leave his bed for six years.

His most recent attempt to escape the house - to attend Miss Solis's 38th birthday party in March - fell through when a flatbed tow truck brought to transport his reinforced bed got caught beneath an underpass.

Mr Uribe met Miss Solis four years ago and they have been together for two.He said: "We are a couple. We have sex, and in the eyes of God we are already married." Miss Solis said: "I bathe him every day and we get along very well. At times, yes, people say things, that it's a fake relationship, but what we have is real."

Mr Uribe's weight problem spiralled out of control after he moved to the US for a few years in 1988 and indulged in a non-stop diet of junk food.

So you can go to the USA, gain about 75 stones and no-one notices...

In the end it just seemed easier this way...

The original was here.