Crisis for the man who ate Christmas

A MAN who has eaten Christmas dinner every day for the past five years is going on a diet after gaining almost four stone.

Forty-one-year-old Andy Park is seeking "urgent" medical advice on ways to combat his addiction to an all-day menu of festive treats, which includes mince pies, roast turkey and sherry. He now weighs 16 stone.

"I love living Christmas every day but I have got so big that I know I need help.

''I just want to cut down; there's no way I can give it all up altogether," Mr Park said yesterday.

The self-employed electrician, from Melksham, Wiltshire, first put up Christmas decorations during the summer of 1993 to "cheer himself up".

He now spends over pounds 300 a week on Christmas food and at 3pm every day, watches a video of the Queen's speech. He wraps three presents for himself each night and leaves them under the tree in his lounge.

Each year, Mr Park consumes 104 turkeys, 200 tins of Quality Street and 260 Christmas puddings. He buys cut-price Christmas goodies in January and makes deals with his local butcher for cheap turkeys, which he cooks every three days. "Brussel sprouts are my favourite. I could eat bowls of them," he said.

His daily menu includes:

Breakfast: Two mince pies, one bowl of Christmas pudding and orange juice.

Mid-morning: Three mince pies and a glass of sherry.

Lunch: Turkey sandwich and chocolates.

Afternoon: More mince pies and a glass of champagne.

Dinner: Roast turkey dinner with all the trimmings and Christmas pudding.

A spokeswoman for Weightwatchers urged Mr Park to join his local slimming group, saying he needed to eat a more "balanced diet".

If Mr Park - who is hoping for singing stardom with a song about his unusual hobby, called "The Christmas Man" - starts dieting now, he could be back to his original weight by the millennium, she added.