Airline passenger forced to buy extra seats that aren't together

BRYNITHEL, Wales, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- A man who weighs more than 500 pounds said an airline forced him to buy a second ticket, but the seats weren't together.

Les Price, 43, of Brynithel, Wales, a contestant on the BBC's "Wales' Weight Clinic" said the airline told him the rules required him to purchase two tickets on each plane for his roundtrip to Ireland, The Daily Telegraph reported Monday.

"When I got to the airport I had to explain to all the staff why I had two tickets, they didn't have a clue," Price said. "When I finally got on the plane one was an aisle seat and the other was by the window -- in a three-seat row. On the way back from Ireland one seat was in row 17 and the other in row 19."

Price, who weighs more than 500 pounds, said he has always struggled with weight gain, but the problem escalated following a back injury that kept him at home for months and the death of his wife in 2009.

Price said he is hoping to get his weight back under control on the TV diet show, which airs Monday evening.