Woman sheds 18 stone to win title

A Staffordshire woman who once tipped the scales at more than 30 stone has been awarded a national slimming title.
Linda Whalley, of Newcastle-under-Lyme, lost 18 stone 8lb after she was stung into action by people asking if she had an illness that made her fat.

The 53-year-old hospital domestic became so obese that she even had difficulty walking.

She has been named Slimming World’s Great Loser 2005 and receives her title and £3,000 at a ceremony on Wednesday.

’Courage and conviction’

Ms Whalley claims she “now eats more than she ever did before” but takes plenty of walks.

Runners-up Ben Eeles, from Dorset, and Steve Hancock from Bristol, win £2,000 each.

Mr Eeles, 46, an artist potter, developed a love of beer and curries after getting married causing his weight to soar to nearly 32 stone.

He broke seats in his small Citroen 2CV and split his trousers when he bent over in the pub, but ended up losing 17 stone 9lbs over two years.

Mr Hancock, 48, saw his weight escalate to 31 stone, which caused health problems, including Type I Diabetes and osteoarthritis.

He lost 17 stone 4lbs in just under two years.

A Slimming World spokeswoman said: “We think it is an amazing achievement, we really take our hats off to them.

“They have really shown so much courage and conviction to lose such an amount of weight.”