A 41-STONE university student has been told to lose weight or die before he reaches 30.

Newcastle University undergraduate Colin Ord has to shed 24 stone or face dying within a decade.

The 21-year-old has now embarked on a diet and fitness regime to turn around his life.

Mr Ord, who is studying marketing at the university, was told a month ago by his GP to lose the weight, and the consequences if he did not.

He was told that unless he lowered his body mass index (BMI) of 65, he was unlikely to survive the next ten years.

An average BMI is 20 to 25 and a score more than 30 is classed as obese.

Mr Ord, who grew up in Durham, said he knows that unless he loses weight, the hard work he has done to get to university will all be wasted.

He said: "When I went in to see the GP, he sat me down and said I had a very serious problem.

"I knew that and he knew that. He came out and said: 'You will not make 30 if you continue the way you are going'.

"It was a real shock. I am at one of the best universities in the country and I worked really hard to get here.

"And to think that in six or seven years' time, I could be suffering from heart problems, diabetes, problems with my joints, I could even be in a wheelchair.

''That's not the life I want to lead. I am a motivated person and I am determined to make some positive changes.''

Mr Ord rejected surgery or medication to lose weight, preferring hard graft.

He has now set himself a target to slim down to 17 stone within two years.

He said: "I wanted to go down the proper route of physical activity and changing my lifestyle."

The student has now enlisted personal trainer Gary Nash, an ex-Army fitness instructor who has appeared in the TV series Bad Lads' Army, to help.

Mr Ord said: "The first sessions in the gym were really hard because I was self-conscious of people looking at me.

"Gary has been an inspiration. What I really needed was that motivation and he has given it to me."

Colin said that his immediate target was to be able to walk from Newcastle's Central Station to Newcastle University without getting out of breath.

He said: "Now I feel I am really on track."