Scientist dies after his leg swells to three stones

A PENSIONER cruelly dubbed the 'Elephant Man' because of a bizarre leg condition, has died in hospital.

By The Newsroom

Published 5th Aug 2016, 09:31 BST

Updated 5th Aug 2016, 10:34 BST

Michael Cull's horrifically swollen limb started to bleed while he was on holiday. Picture: SWNS

Former scientist Michael Cull, 68, underwent a decade of treatment after a massive growth began taking over his left leg.

Mr Cull, 68, who had been orphaned as a child and who was said to have endured years of taunts, was taken to hospital in Newcastle last month after his leg, weighing three stones, began to bleed.

He remained in intensive care for three weeks before being transferred to a hospital near his home in Aberdeenshire.

Doctors had previously discovered two huge tumours growing within his leg, which they said would likely spread to the rest of his body even if they were to amputate it,

Today his friend Christina Brooks, 65, said: “He had to walk around with big shoes and custom trousers for 10 years. If you had a dog and you treated it like that, you’d be thrown in jail.”