Is this 15 stone Great Dane Britain's heaviest dog?

This seven-foot Blue Great Dane is believed to be Britain's heaviest dog.

Five-year-old Balthazar weighs more than 15 stone - the same as a baby elephant.

Balthazar measures a whopping 1m from his paw to his shoulder but is 2.1m from his nose to his tail.

Owners Vinnie, 46, and Dixie Monte-Irvine, 39, were shocked when they took Balthazar to the vets last week and the scales clocked a whopping 15st 6lb (99.3kg).

The enormous Great Dane chomps his way through 15kg of dog food every two weeks - costing his owners a whopping £108 every month.

The gigantic dog lives with Vinnie and Dixie and their three children Francesca, 11, Gloria, four, and two-year-old Tyrion at their detached home in Gedling, Nottingham.

Self-employed business analyst Vinnie said: "He is a big dog and we were told from when he was a lot smaller that he was always quite heavy for his age.

"He isn't a fat dog though as you can still see his ribs.

"We took him to the vets as he has a poorly leg and he needed to be weighed to see how much medication he can take.

"After he was weighed everyone at the surgery was gobsmacked and we were all just Googling to see if he was actually the world's heaviest living dog."

The family's other dog, 15-year-old Patterdale Terrier Fifi, has become a surrogate mum to Balthazar who the family got when he was just six-weeks-old.

But Vinnie said Balthazar is a gentle giant who likes to play with their children and is best friends with the family's three pet cats.

He added: "He is a calm dog and he mostly likes to just sit around with our cats."

The family said they buy him special dog beds online but he "regularly eats them".

Vinne said: "He lives in the kitchen which thankfully is a big kitchen but it can make a cooking a challenge at times."

A spokesperson for The Vet Nottingham in Bilborough, Nottingham, where Balthazar was weighed, said: "We certainly haven't ever seen a dog that is as heavy as that here before."

The Guinness World Records don't monitor the record for the heaviest dog due to animal welfare reasons.

But last summer a three-year-old Great Dane called Major was in the running to be crowned the world's tallest dog.

The giant dog, who lives with owners Brian and Julie Williams in Penmaen near Swansea, South Wales, stands at a whopping eight-feet tall on his hind legs.

But he only weighs 12 stone which is three stone less than Balthazar.