7ft 4in burglar poses prison problem

Prison officials were trying to make room for a 7ft 4in inmate today after one Britain's tallest men was jailed for burglary and other offences.

Christopher Lister, 21, appeared in a TV documentary two years ago when he was featured as one of the UK's tallest youngsters.

But yesterday, a judge at Leeds Crown Court sentenced Lister, of Aviary View in the city, to a total of 11 months in prison for burglary, handling stolen goods, interfering with a vehicle and breaching a previous suspended sentence.

The court heard that Lister was involved in a burglary at a house in the Armley area of Leeds in November last year in which a TV was stolen. The court heard that he admitted providing a van but said he did not go into the house.

Car-mad Lister, who was 6ft 2in when he was 13, has described in the past the difficulties he has faced because of his size, including severe back pain and constant jibes as he walks around his home city.

His parents were forced to spend thousands of pounds adapting their home to cope with their son's extreme height, including lengthening a bed and fitting a special shower.

Lister's lawyer said he thought prison would be a difficult experience for him.

* Britain's tallest man, Neil Fingleton, from Durham, is 7ft 7in.