Tall story: 7ft 1in business student, 21, towers over his 5ft 9in girlfriend, needs custom-made clothes and can't fit on a bed

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Towering over his 5ft 9in girlfriend, this is the 7ft 1in business student who is so tall that he needs custom-made clothes and cannot fit onto a bed. 

William Jewell, from High Wycombe, has towered over friends since he was a teenager, despite there being no history of extreme height in his family.

By the time he was 13, the keen basketball player already stood at 6ft 3in - seven inches taller than the average height for a teenage boy.

Towering over his 5ft 9in girlfriend, this is 7ft 1in business student William Jewell who is so tall that he needs custom-made clothes

The 21-year-old, pictured with his girlfriend Selina Swift, 19, also cannot fit properly on a normal-sized bed

He is now 16 inches taller than his 19-year-old girlfriend, Selina Swift, despite her being well above the average 5ft 4in height for a British woman.

The 21-year-old, who also has size 15 feet, said: 'People stop and stare all the time. I can't go out anywhere without someone turning around and whispering to their friends.

'I get asked the full works - "Are you on stilts?", "What's the weather like up there?", "Do you play basketball?" - It's relentless. 

'You can never lose me in a club either. I can't walk through a room without being stopped at least five times by people asking for photos.' 

As well as towering over Selina, William is also significantly taller than his 6ft 3in father John, his mother Beverley and his sister Emma - both of whom measure 5ft 10in.

Selina, 19, said: 'He's my Big Friendly Giant. I've been dating Will for just over a month - when I first met him of course I couldn't believe the height but he's really sweet and gentle. 

The university student also has size 15 feet and fuels his body by eating around 3,500 calories a day 

William towers over his girlfriend (second from left), his sister Emma (second from right), his 6ft 3in father John (right) and his mother Beverley (left) is measures 5ft 10in

'People stop and stare when we're out together but it's understandable he's a gentle giant and he really is great company.'

William, a student studying Business Management at Bath Spa University, puts his size down to drinking a lot of milk as a child.

He has to have his clothes specially made and, when he was younger, he had to have his school-trousers specially fitted due to his slim waist and unusually long legs. Recently, he had to pay an £100 to have a suit specially fitted.

He said: 'When I was at school it was painful at times because all the door frames were made for little kids and school clothes were also a struggle to find.

'My mum and dad are quite an average height so I'm not sure where it has come from.

William, pictured left with his mother and right with his sister, puts his size down to drinking a lot of milk as a child

Even as a child, William towered over his peers. He is pictured (back row, centre) with his football team

A keen sportsman, his height means he has become a successful basketball player. He is pictured aged 13 (back row, centre) playing for the school rugby team

'I drink a lot of milk but apart from that I really don't know - in the past doctors have been just as confused as us.'

William consumes an average of 3,500 calories a day but has a healthy BMI of 20.3. Since he was a teenager, Mr Jewell has played basketball for Reading and Bristol and has even been on tour with the England youth set-up.  

Earlier this year, Britain's former tallest man, who grew to be 7ft 6in-and-a-half inches, died aged 71.

Actor Christopher Greener, from Bromley, south London, has been diagnosed at 27 with a condition known as pituitary gigantism where a tumour had grown on his pituitary gland, an organ that controls bodily functions including release of growth hormones. 

He played basketball internationally for Great Britain in the late 60s and early 70s and played the circus giant in David Lynch's film The Elephant Man.

Mr Greener held the 'tallest man' title for 40 years but was replaced in 2007 by Neil Fingleton, who measures 7ft 7.56ins tall.

Mr Fingleton, from Durham, also played basketball and is now an actor, having recently starred alongside Mila Kunis in Jupiter Ascending.

Neither however beat the record of William Bradley who, at 7ft 9ins tall, was known as the Yorkshire Giant until his death in 1820.