THE world’s former fattest man is returning to the UK for costly NHS treatment — once he’s faced court for shoplifting.

Pals fear Paul Mason, 57, has “gone into freefall”, piling on 16 stone to 35 stone after splitting from the fiancée who turned his life around in the US.

He could also be jailed for “grand larceny”, or theft, after he was accused of stashing goods in his electric cart and driving off.

David Pounds, who is producing a TV documentary on Paul’s plight, revealed: “It has been a rocky few years for Paul.

“He has put back on weight as he copes with his relationship break down and depression. His food addiction has really got hold of him.

“Now he has been accused of shoplifting.”

Cops say ex-postie Paul, who once had to be hoisted out of his home by forklift when he touched 70stone, was found with £175 of aftershave, perfume, phone chargers and earphones in his cart’s trolley in May.

Walmart security staff allege Paul had pulled the stunt before.

A police officer’s report, seen by The Sun, says: “Store security advised the male party, later identified as Paul Mason, failed to pay for the items he had in his basket totalling approximately $225.

“I was further informed that they having (sic) been watching Paul as he has done this in past, as he fills up a basket and then leaves the store utilizing a motorized cart.

“Paul stated that he forgot to pay as he was leaving the store.”

He faces court on November 15 charged with grand larceny of items under $1,200 (£917), which carries a maximum penalty of a year’s jail and £1,150 fine.

Paul will represent himself due to a lack of funds to pay a lawyer.

In recent months he has piled on weight, gorging on pizza and crisps all night after splitting from fiancée Rebecca Mountain for the last time earlier this year.

Paul now gets around on sticks and is desperate for a double knee replacement and an op to fix a herniated stomach staple which he damaged by over-eating.

David added: “Paul has had safety nets in the past but now there is nothing to catch him. He is hoping he can have these ops done on the NHS. He doesn’t know where else to turn. The cost is just too high in the US. He doesn’t have a date in mind on coming back. It depends how the court case goes.”

Residents in his hometown Ipswich slammed his plan yesterday.

Maria Garnham, a 43-year-old carer, said he should contribute cash from his TV appearance fees.

She said: “I know it’s an illness and I don’t begrudge anyone for wanting to get treated.

“But to come back to the UK and use NHS money when it could be spent on better things, like local mental health, is infuriating.

“I suppose he will need housing in Ipswich again as well.”

A former neighbour added: “Paul is still allowing his circumstances in life to affect his weight.

“To leave the country and come back just because we have a free NHS is wrong — although it’s completely understandable why you would do it.

“He should be looking not just at the weight but at how he thinks and feels so he can cope better when he’s in a bad way.”

Before moving to join Rebecca, an 8st vegetarian, in Orange, Massachusetts, in 2014, Paul’s care was costing UK taxpayers £100,000-a-year and an estimated £1.5million in total.

During a 2002 medical emergency, fire crews had to take out a window and brickwork so a forklift could take him out of the house and to hospital in a five-ton ambulance specially built for obese people.

By 2009 Paul needed a life-saving op after scoffing 20,000 calories a day, including three family-sized takeaway meals an evening.

And in 2010 he had gastric bypass surgery that shrunk his stomach to the size of an egg. He also started sticking to a 2,000-calorie diet. In 2013 Rebecca contacted Paul after seeing a documentary about his plight. The pair got engaged and in May 2015 he had four stone of excess skin cut from his body in a nine-hour procedure in New York.

The NHS had refused to do the £30,000 op until his weight had been stable for two years.

Despite getting down to 19stone, Paul and Rebecca called off their engagement in September 2015.

Producer David told The Sun: “Rebecca was helped him to lose weight, get exercise and eat well.

“But she realised they had slightly different goals. Paul is not an easy man to live with. He always needs encouragement and support.

“I think she felt that the relationship lost balance really.

“He stopped doing things around the house and she’s quite a focused woman and those sorts of things would irritate her.

“He would say she wouldn’t give him the emotional support he needed. They grew apart.”

Paul and dog Duke, who he took with him from the UK, temporarily stayed at a pal’s.

He eventually found a halfway house in Orange and had another round of surgery in 2016 to remove huge flaps of skin on his arms. He lost weight again during a brief reconciliation with Rebecca, now 45, but that ended in March.

David said Paul now barely gets out of bed and has a fridge and cooker in his room which he uses to make and scoff snacks at night.

David said: “The pain from his knees means he does not sleep well.

“He pretty much eats through the night. He’s not hungry. He is eating because he is depressed and addicted. It is a vicious circle.”

Paul had two toes removed over the summer due to arthritis.

He is also on painkillers and medication for disorders including diabetes, cellulitis and anaemia.

His story will be told in The World’s Fattest Man, The Big American Adventure. Made by Nevison it is due to wrap up this year.

David added: “Our film shows how dramatic it is for Paul to just get around. It is really not easy.

“His biggest fear is that he will end up back in a wheelchair.

“But Paul is a survivor. When he wants to he can lose weight dramatically. He just needs the right focus and right people around him.”