'Too thin' footie mascot forced to quit after refusing to wear sumo-style suit

There's been a bit of a kerfuffle in the north of England over some football mascot who has quit his job because he's no longer fat.

Wed, 07 Aug, 2013 - 10:49

Peter Towe

There's been a bit of a kerfuffle in the north of England over some football mascot who has quit his job because he's no longer fat.

Lenny Berry, who has played Bradford City's portly City Gent mascot for nearly 20 years, has lost seven stones for health reasons when he was diagnosed with diabetes.

As a result, City fans are unable to grab his ample belly any more and the powers-that-be at the club have decided to let him go since his "physical appearance" is "much changed from the original concept" of the character.

They say they made the decision after he refused an offer of wearing a sumo-style suit to continue playing his alter-ego.

Here's Mr Berry in his hey day.

Clip via Dave Brave on YouTube.

Erm, yes we can see why they want to keep him….

The gutted mascot told Bradford's Telegraph & Argus newspaper: "I used to have supporters chant things at me, like 'who ate all the pies?' I used to get them going and then grab my belly. I've always had a good rapport with fans."

Disgruntled fans have got together on Facebook to reminisce and save the rotund one.

A local shop saw its opportunity and is advertising T-shirts for the 'Save Our Lenny' campaign.