An eight-year-old British boy who weighs more than 200 pounds will be allowed to stay with his mother, who had risked losing her son because she can't control his eating.

The local council of North Tyneside made the decision Tuesday after meeting with Connor McCreaddie and his mother, Nicola McKeown, for a child protection conference.

Connor McCreaddie (CBC)

"We have had a useful discussion today during which all agencies and the family confirmed that the priority in this matter is the eight-year-old boy," the council said in a statement.

"The Local Safeguarding Children Board was able to confirm that its hope and ambition is to enable this child to remain with his family."

"In order to move this matter forward we have made a formal agreement with the family to safeguard and promote the child's welfare."

Details of that agreement were not revealed.

Doctors say that Connor, who weighs 218 pounds and is considered three times the average weight for his age, is at risk for severe medical problems.

His mother has said it is difficult to help him because he steals and hides food and eats double or triple what an average child his age would have.

"If I didn't give him enough at teatime then he would just go on at us all night for snacks and stuff," McKeown told ITV.

But McKeown has reportedly failed to attend appointments with nurses, nutritionists and social workers.

Dr. Colin Waine, the director of the National Obesity Forum in Nottingham, England, called Connor's lifestyle "extremely dangerous," adding he is at risk of developing diabetes in his early teens, and cardiovascular and nervous system problems in his 20s.

"He's really at risk of dying by the time he's 30," Waine said.

A spokeswoman for health officials said earlier that the conference was part of a process that could eventually lead to Connor being taken into protective care, the Associated Press reported. 

Connor is five feet tall, wears adult clothes and size eight shoes, according to media reports. He has difficulty dressing and washing himself, misses school regularly because of poor health and is targeted by bullies.

"People pick on us because of my weight. They call us fat. It makes us feel sick of the nutters always shouting at us," Connor told ITV.

He lives with his mother and sister.

With files from the Associated Press