A CHOCOHOLIC who was terrified to leave his home as his weight ballooned to 26 stone has told how music saved his life.

Rick Snowdon battled with his addiction for years - and was eating £25 worth of sweets and pastries every day.

At one stage, he forced his older brother to trawl the streets at 4am to find him something to satisfy his cravings.

He was afraid to look in the mirror, and rarely showered, but when he did, he closed his eyes so he didn't look at himself.

A rigorous regime of exercise and diet helped Rick lose more than half of his body weight and crash down from his 56ins waist.

Now a trim 14 stone, the handsome singer-songwriter is releasing his first single Bring You Home and was invited to audition for BBC's The Voice on Monday.

Rick, 29, learned to play guitar while he locked himself away in his home in Hartlepool for more than four solitary years.

Now, he has 16 guitars in his home, along with a drum kit, keyboard, violin, bongos, harmonica and countless amplifiers.

"Without music, I'd have eaten myself to death," said Rick. "I just surrounded myself with it, and it has saved me.

"It is something I do completely, with all I have, and it is the only thing that has ever compared to chocolate."

Rick was bullied throughout his school days - branded Fat Snowy by cruel children - and would rarely turn up for classes.

He weighed 19 stone at the age of 15, was "very, very shy".

"I thought (the bullies) were right," said Rick. "I was telling myself that I wasn't worth anything, and I was a waste of time.

"Then I got involved in music, picked up a guitar, started playing, and decided I wanted to be in a band and be a rock star.

"I started missing classes. I was anti-authority and would not let the teachers tell me what to do. I knew what I wanted.

"I would walk out of classes and come home to practice guitar. I didn't pass any of my GCSEs, but at that time I wasn't bothered.

"I didn't go to school a lot. I was so, so scared of people - very, very scared. I didn't like to talk to people.

"After school, I rarely went out. I covered myself up with massive clothes, and was extremely embarrassed about my weight.

"I could not be around people. My eyes watered when I was around other kids, and I was constantly pulling myself down.

"My dad used to listen to music on his record player, smash out Led Zeppelin, and scream along to it. I didn't know what it was at that time, but I was entertained. It was something about the power.

"It was loud and raw and exciting. That's what I aspire to. That's what I want to be now. I want people to take notice."

On one of his rare nights out with his brother William, Rick felt so uncomfortable he vowed to stay indoors for four months to lose enough weight to face the world again.

"That four months turned into four-and-a-half years," he said. "And because I had little contact with people, I became depressed and ate more.

"I would eat £25 worth of sweet stuff every day, things like cookies, eclairs, bars of chocolate, crepes and other pastries.

"It reached crisis point when I threatened my brother again. I woke him up at 4am and demanded he found a shop to get me some chocolate. He broke down crying.

"I forced him out in the rain to go around town looking for chocolate. He came back with a bagful, but begged me not to eat it. He was pleading with me.

"This was also a massive turning point. I opened one bar, and smelt it, but I didn't eat it. My brother and mother helped me through it. I can't thank them enough."

* Rick's single, Bring You Home, was written as a reminder of the challenge he went through and hopes it will help others in the same situation. Bring You Home is available on itunes