Being Obese Is Not Just A American Problem

The extraordinary scene as man is laid to rest in Britain's biggest casket

Tipping the scales at more than 700 pounds Mark Bamber could never lead a normal life.

After the father-of-one died of heart failure aged 38, his family were determined he should have a dignified send-off.

To accommodate his formidable 700lb-plus frame, a mahogany casket was built -

7ft 11in long, 4ft 6in wide and 30in deep.

As it wound its way fully laden through the streets of Mr Bamber's home town of Wigan, it weighed more than half a ton.

Alan Roby, of funeral directors Thorley Smith, the firm that supplied the casket, said: "It really was at the very edge of what is dignified. It has got to be the biggest casket ever used in this country. And it is a casket rather than a coffin. A casket is a straight rectangular box. It would have been impossible to make the coffin shape at that size. "He added: "There are no hearses available that would be big enough for a casket that size so there had to be a horse-drawn platform for the journey to the cemetery."