COULD this be Bolton’s tallest man?

At 7ft 2in, Yakhoub Brahimsaid is 7in taller than England striker Peter Crouch and 5ft taller than Lin Yih-Chih, the world’s shortest man, although he would have had to look up to 8ft 11in Guinness World Record holder Robert Pershing Wadlow, who died in America in 1940.

Jacob, as he is known to his friends, wears size 19 shoes and has to have specially made supersize clothes.

He also has a custom-built bed which is more than three metres long and the learner driver struggles to get into many small cars.

The 39-year-old, of Deepdale Road, Breightmet, is used to being noticed — he says he gets stopped about 100 times every day by people who are awestruck by his height.

He said: “People are always asking me how tall I am, but I like it. I get it many times in the street every day.

“I’m very happy and very proud to be tall and very proud to be in Bolton.

“I think I am the tallest person in Bolton. I did meet two lads once who were 6ft 10in, but I have never seen anyone any bigger.”

Jacob towers over the other staff and customers at G Casino and Mecca Bingo, where he works as a doorman.

One of the questions he is regularly asked is “What has your mum been feeding you?”

The answer is semolina — he gets through about two boxes every week.

The food is popular in his home country, Chad, in central Africa, where he was born into a family of 12 boys and five girls.

All his family are big — one of his brothers is 6ft 7in, and his dad is 6ft 3in, but Jacob is the tallest.

He has lived in Bolton for five years, and he believes “destiny” brought him here.

Jacob says there are many advantages to being so tall, including being head and shoulders above competitors in the job market.

He also used to play semi-professional basketball for Marseille’s second team when he lived in France.

Jacob never has any trouble seeing the band at a concert, but he admits that it is not always ideal for people who standing behind him.

After being compared to the gargantuan prisoner John Coffey in Hollywood film The Green Mile, Jacob began to wonder if there might be an opportunity for someone with his unusual physique in Hollywood. He is currently looking for acting work, and wants to emulate his heroes, Denzel Washington, Tom Hanks and Steven Seagal.

* Do you know anyone taller than Yakhoub? Contact the newsdesk on 01204 537259.