KIEV: A giant veterinary surgeon from northwest Ukraine has been declared the tallest living human by Guinness World Records, the book's publisher said on Wednesday. “Guinness World Records has announced the new tallest man in the world as... Leonid Stadnyk of Ukraine who was found to be 2.57 metres (8 feet 5.5 inches) in 2006,” spokeswoman Amarilis Espinoza said on Wednesday.

In the upcoming 2008 edition of the record book Stadnyk will replace Bao Xishun, a native of Inner Mongolia in China who stands 2.36 metres (7 feet 9 inches), she said.

Stadnyk is believed to suffer from a rare medical condition caused by a tumour on his pituitary gland that stimulates the overproduction of a growth hormone.—AFP