A MORBIDLY obese man rides past on a mobility scooter which buckles slightly under his colossal size.
He overtakes dozens of other chubby locals trudging along a takeaway-lined street – though none of them are quite as big as him.
This is Hartlepool, on Teesside, where nearly 80 per cent of the region’s population is either overweight or obese.
Last year, the seaside spot was awarded the unenviable title of Britain’s most obese town, after figures analysed by The Telegraph revealed that 33.5 per cent of its population – combining adults and children – were not just overweight but obese. Across England as a whole, the average is 23.8 per cent.
The man on the mobility scooter doesn’t want to be named, but he speaks with brutal honestly about the problems the town faces.
“It’s rubbish around here. We don’t have money, we don’t have lives,” he said. “Most people are alcoholics or drug addicts, and there’s loads of thieving.
“It’s like a graveyard with a pulse. Everyone is overweight.
“I’ve lost over 14 stone in the past, but any weight I’ve lost, I’ve put more on and never recovered. I’ve had three strokes and now I can’t work. I was big before, but I was fit.
“I live here because it’s cheap. I was going to buy a house in Portsmouth but it was £246,000 for a nice mid-terrace three-bedroom. When I came here, I was able to get one for £24,000.
“We need a better health service. The Government don’t have any idea about real life. Farage is more on the level with the working man than the others. Labour is only self-serving.”
Julie Hester used to work as a carer, but she left her job at Christmas due to stress.
The 54-year-old has lost five stone in past years but says she has been unable to keep the weight off due to the cost of living.
Julie, who transports her Yorkshire Terrier Charlie around in a pushchair, said: “I’ve been going to Slimming World for years and I did lose five stone but I’ve gradually put it back on.
“I think it’s the cost of living that makes it hard. Fresh food is more expensive and it’s easier for people to grab quick convenience meals.
“A lot of it is down to people’s mental health too. I know a lot of people with depression and they don’t feel motivated to be healthier.
“It’s people’s choice at the end of the day how they live. If they want to lose weight it’s up to them.
“I’ve lived in Hartlepool all my life and I’ve noticed the number of people getting bigger over time. There’s a lot of takeaways, they just keep opening up.
“Children have got no hope because they’re growing up in this world, they don’t know any better. I think it’s hard for them.
“These computer games have got a lot to do with it. They don’t get out and about playing like they used to so they’re not exercising. It’s not healthy.”
Other health statistics for the town are also below average, with life expectancy just 76 for men and 81 for women.
Shockingly, however, healthy life expectancy among women, relating to the number of years a person is able to enjoy reasonable good health, is estimated to be among the lowest in England, at 51 years. That’s a whole decade below the national average.
Hartlepool has one of the highest death rates from drug misuse and alcohol-related liver disease in the north-east region and, when it comes to portions of fruit and vegetables consumed by adults, the rate here is the lowest in the country.
In the town alone, 38 per cent of adults are classed as obese – compared to 26 per cent nationally. A further 39 per cent are overweight, meaning only 23 per cent in Hartlepool are a healthy size.
To put it into context, 66 per cent of adults in England as a whole are classed as overweight or obese.
Locals blame poverty and an abundance of takeaways for making it harder for them to make sensible choices.
Jack Lyons, 30, who is a carer for his mum, said: “I’m not surprised this is the worst place in the country. It’s such a poor area and in the poor areas, everything feels unhealthier.
“People can’t afford to buy as much fresh fruit and vegetables as it’s more expensive and since people are poorer, they’re often working different jobs with funny hours or on zero hours contracts.
“It’s not easy for people to lose weight. I’ve tried to lose weight in the past and the problem isn’t losing the weight, it’s keeping it off. You have to change your entire diet and you have to have things in place to help you do that.
“Living somewhere like this feels like you’re on the back foot from the start. I don’t smoke, I don’t drink, but I eat and it’s my weakness. If something goes wrong in my day, I break out the biscuits or I go for a burger.
“That’s just who I am and for me to lose weight, I’d have to diet for years and years, and I’m not sure I’m able to do that.
“Everything in life is against you. I’m not sure what support there is to change, either.”
The feeling of hopelessness amongst residents is matched by the seaside town’s dilapidated appearance, which looks as if it’s been neglected for decades.
Shop fronts are peeling and dated, litter is strewn around public areas and the buildings blend in with the grey skies above.
The environment is far from motivating, which is frustrating to those who are working hard to improve their lives.
Some blame the benefits system for working-age generations getting stuck in a rut and learning to live a certain lifestyle.
In September 2025, there were 2,680 people claiming unemployment-related benefits in Hartlepool, and 30 per cent of the working-age population were classified as economically inactive.
John McDonald, 76, who served in the Army before working in several jobs including as an off-shore rigger, said: “In the North East, everybody seems to be in the same boat.
“A lot of people are on benefits and they’re living a lifestyle. They’re living benefit to benefit.
“I see them standing at the cash machine at midnight so they can get their benefits and then go straight to the shop to get their cigarettes, booze and takeaways.
“I don’t think it will ever get better, not under Labour anyway. The first thing that needs to change is the Government.
“We’ve worked all of our lives but people on benefits seem to be better off. The Government gave me a cold weather payment and in the same breath, I had a letter off the tax man saying they want it back.
“They want to get the Army recruitment officers out on the streets and give these youngsters some purpose to live a better life.”
His wife Pauline, also 76, a retired sales assistant, added: “When you see people in shops, in the likes of Iceland and Heron freezer foods, they are buying full fat coke and pizzas and ready meals, and packets of crisps.
“It’s cheap and cheerful, that’s the main diet. I think it’s a generational thing because their parents were like that and their grandparents were like that.
“It’s what they’ve learned. You could have three generations all on benefits, and this is a benefits town.
“They need less benefits, more help and more places for them to go. There’s a skate park and a cycle track, but it’s miles away and kids aren’t getting out, they’re just hanging around.
“They just sit about with takeaways. Even during the school day, they come out at lunchtime, go to Greggs and McDonald’s and sit on the floor of the shopping centre.”
Offering some relief from the town’s doom and gloom high street is the Middleton Grange Shopping Centre.
Inside are a wide range of chain stores including Boots, River Island and H&M and the bright open spaces are a pleasant contrast.
But it is no surprise to see hordes of teenagers queuing outside of McDonald’s and Greggs to get their hands on cheap fast-food.
So we are taken aback to come across a colourful fruit and veg stall, called G J Watson Fruiteries.
Geoff Watson, who runs the shop, moved his business into Middleton Grange after being forced out of the market he’d operated on for nearly 50 years.
The 72-year-old said: “We were in the market for nearly 50 years but we had to move in here when they concreted over the top of it.
“Things have definitely changed and while I’d say younger people now have more time on their hands, they don’t want to spend it on home-cooked food.
“We see them walk past with their fast food, and they’re not interested in fruit and veg. Our clientele either come in because they’re health conscious, or they’re older and they’re interested in what fresh produce we have to offer.
“We locally source all of our food and it’s important to us to offer quality. But that’s not what people are really looking for generally anymore. It’s a different way of life.
“We’re lucky to still get a good footfall in here so it wasn’t a bad move to come into the shopping centre for us, but it definitely makes you think about the future and how things will keep changing.”
Salon owner Mariella Rigali, 25, believes the obesity crisis is down to people in the area “having no inspiration to better themselves” and she’s frustrated by the lack of options for those wanting to be healthy.
Mariella, who owns the Made By Mariella salon in the town centre, said: “There’s just not many healthy options around here. Those of us who work in the salon are always saying we’d love a healthy sandwich shop because when we go to get food, there’s nothing.
“If you go to bigger cities, there’s loads of choice but round here, there’s no need for it. People don’t want healthy choices.
“They blame poverty but then fast food is expensive so I don’t agree with that. Any take-out options are costly, it’s an excuse because people don’t want to be healthy and look after themselves.
“It’s all about wellness and in this day and age, it should be better. People are willing to pay to look after themselves if they want to. People come here for treatments and pay for them, it’s the same with how you fuel your body.
“I don’t really think it’s about the money though. It’s the type of people who live here and it’s a minority of people who want to look after themselves and live a better life.
“In general with Hartlepool, people have no inspiration to better themselves. You only have to look around to see how rubbish people’s lives are and when you’re in a small town, it’s easy to be a in a small-town minority.”
Lynne Sanderson, 65, and her husband Keith, 62, believe unemployment is a real issue for the town, and that there should be more available for young people to do.
Lynne said: “There’s a lot of big people that are wandering about. Years ago we used to all get up and go to work but there’s a lot of unemployment around here and people are bored, or they’re ill.
“It’s easy to sit at home and drink a lot. There’s a lot of takeaways and I think it’s got people into bad habits. The easy thing to do is to buy a takeaway but we home cook all of our meals.
“I’ve got high cholesterol so my health is important to me. I eat a lot of fruit and yogurt to try and stay healthy.
“People have to want to do it, and I think that’s the problem. It’s getting them up and going. But so many people are overweight here that it’s become the norm. There’s no urgency for people to break the mould.”
Keith, who was made recently made redundant from the stores, added: “When we were younger, there were a lot of youth clubs about but there aren’t any in the town now.
“They’ve taken them all away for the young’uns, so on a night where you might go to a youth club and play football, there’s none of that now.
“A lot of kids are left on their own when they finish school too and they’re left to grab stuff so that’s feeding the problem.”
A Hartlepool Borough Council spokesperson said: “Obesity is a national issue driven by complex social and environmental factors, and rates are higher in more deprived communities.
“In Hartlepool we’re taking a whole‑system approach investing in new leisure facilities like the state-of-the-art Highlight Active Wellbeing Hub due to open in the summer on top of our existing centres Brierton Sports Centre and Headland Sports Centre.
“We are also one of Sport England’s Place Partnership focus areas, looking at increasing physical activity.
“We are protecting, and promoting the use of, our parks such as Rossmere Park, Ward Jackson Park, Seaton Park, Burn Valley Gardens and Summerhill County Park.
“We are also investing in new play equipment, as we recognise that children’s play is also a key component in helping children to stay active.
“We are improving access to healthy food and limiting new hot food takeaways.
“We have also adopted the Food Active Healthy Weight Declaration, demonstrating our commitment to a collaborative approach to healthy weight promotion.
“Through strong partnerships across the Council, NHS and community organisations, we are focused on making healthy choices easier for everyone.
“We are also leading the Tees Valley roll-out of the Government’s Connect To Work and Work Well programmes to encourage more people into work.”
