A 14-AND-A-HALF stone Great Dane who towers over his owner is in the running to be crowned the world’s tallest dog.

Four-year-old Freddy, who lives in Leigh with his owner Claire Stoneman, is up against just two other dogs to claim the Guinness World Record title.

Although Miss Stoneham always knew he was going to be a big dog, as per his breed, Freddy’s enormous height came as a surprise as he was once the runt of the litter.

Taxi driver Miss Stoneham, 41, said: “I really didn’t expect him to be so big; he was the runt of the litter and was really poorly as a baby.

“He was the smallest one there. I knew he was going to be big as he’s a Great Dane but not that he would be a giant one!”

But Miss Stoneman insists that, despite his size, Freddy, who weighs in at 14.5st, eats 2kg of chicken, 800g of tripe and 500g of kibble a day and towers over his 5ft 4in owner, is a real life gentle giant.

“He’s just a big baby, a big mummy’s boy who loves cuddles,” she said.

“He loves having paw massages, sitting on the sofa and I have to hand feed him most of his meals as he is a really fussy eater - you’d never believe he could have grown to this size!”

The huge dog is now in the running alongside fellow Great Danes Major, from the Gower in Wales, and Rocco, from Nevada in the US, for the official record after Channel 5, which is doing a documentary on Living with the World’s Biggest Dogs, asked to enter him into the competition.

All three dogs are now waiting for a visit from the Guinness World Record team before the winner is decided in the next few weeks.

Miss Stoneman, who has been asked not to reveal his current height until the record is ratified, hopes he is in with a chance as she believes Freddy, who was reported to stand at 41 inches tall from his paws to his withers two years ago, has grown since then.

But she insists that, whether he wins the title or not, Freddy will be just as special as always.

She added: “It’s all been really weird, everyone has been asking if I’m worried about the competition. But just to be in the world’s top three is crazy, it doesn’t really matter to me if he wins or not.

“He’s just my little baby, he’s my little Freddy.”