Britain's heaviest man may be a Brummie but when it comes to suits he admits Bradford's best.

Barry Austin is a 41 stone Birmingham City fan who had never had a proper pair of trousers in his life before he met tailor Raymond Lister.

So, he drove for two-and-a-half hours to get fitted out for a suit at Mr Lister's long-established shop in Westgate.

Barry, who admits to getting through 40 pints of beer and up to seven Baltis a night, starred in a recent TV show about Britain's fattest men alongside Bradford's own gentle giant, Jack Taylor.

He explained: "I couldn't get a suit made in Birmingham no matter where I tried - they all seem to buy in bulk and in set sizes.

"I had bumped into Raymond when I was doing the TV show with Jack, and he said he could make me one - so here I am!

"It will be my first suit and I'm really excited about wearing it - I'll probably give it its first outing at a Christmas party."

Despite having a decade of experience in making larger-than-life clothes for Jack, Mr Lister knew he was facing a challenge of truly epic proportions this time.

With Barry's calves measuring more than most people's waists, at 39 inches, and his hips stretching to 76 inches, the tailor admits to being initially daunted.

"It is easily the biggest suit I've had to do," he said. "When I first took the measurements I couldn't believe them - I thought I'd made a mistake and re-did them!

"But Barry's on a diet now and his waist has come down two inches, to 69. I've told him that if he gets down to 20 stone I'll make him a new suit - so that should be a good incentive!

"He's had to get by with baggy tracksuit bottoms up to now, so he's delighted at the prospect."

Michael Graham, the owner of Seymour Shirts in Sunbridge Road, was also on hand to measure 33-year-old Barry up for three bespoke shirts to go with his new suit.

He said: "We do a lot of larger size shirts but this is something else. We think it will take up to 8.5 metres of cloth.

"It's a big job in every sense of the word!"

Barry, who had travelled up to Bradford with his mother Lillian, is actually much lighter than his heaviest-ever weight of 58 stone.

A keen clubber, he says he is cutting down on drink and junk food in a serious bid to lose weight, and remains philosophical about his physical claim-to-fame.

"It's quite sad, really, to have notoriety from being the fattest man in Britain, and if I lost 20 stone and lost all the fame then I'd be delighted.

"But on the other hand it's quite fun being well recognised, and it has its advantages. I have a specially-modified seat and free season ticket at Birmingham City, and I've met all kinds of people on chat shows - the Spice Girls, Robbie Williams, George Michael.

"Maybe I'll become even more famous for losing so much weight - that would be great."

Casting a proud eye on her son, Mrs Austin added: "He was only 4lbs when he was born, you know - he was ever so small.

"It was only when he got to around eight-years-old that weight became a problem. I tried to cut down his meals, but he ended up going round to his friends' houses and telling their parents I was starving him, so he got fed there!

"It's marvellous Raymond is doing this for us, because we don't have a decent tailor in Birmingham."

Barry will be journeying back to Yorkshire soon for his next fitting.

Pictured is Barry getting his first suit fitting.