A Westcliff woman is celebrating after losing 50lbs.

Anna Bell decided to start shedding the pounds in the run-up to her 70th birthday last November.

However, since then she has continued with the fat-busting diet and has now dropped from 14 stones to 10.5 stones in less than four months.

The mum-of-nine from Northview Drive was named a gold member of her local Weight Watchers class for her efforts and says the best thing about it is being able to fit into her daughter's clothes.

She said: "My daughter said they were planning a big party for my birthday so I decided I wanted to do something to mark it myself." Group team leader Sandra Grant said: "She has been fantastic. The other members are thrilled she has done so well."

Slimmer - Anna before and (left) after her successful diet

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.