A mother-of-two who lost four-and-a-half stone in a year-long diet, is set to become a slimming instructor herself.

Samantha Harris, 28, from Hawksworth Road, Grove, saw her weight plummet from 15-and-a-half to under 11 stone after joining a Weight Watchers class. She said the weight loss - the equivalent of 146 packs of lard - had changed her life and she was determined to help others do the same.

Samantha HarrisMrs Harris, who works as a shop assistant at Ardington Post Office Stores, near Wantage, will now become a Weight Watchers' leader in Wantage and Didcot. She said: "I feel brilliant. I put on a lot of weight after having children and even stopped going out. But losing weight has helped me get my confidence back and made me feel fit and healthy.

"While I was losing weight a lot of people said I would make a good advert for Weight Watchers. I would definitely be a good leader because I have already been through it and know what it is like."

She added: "My old clothes are too big, so people have been giving me things that they have outgrown, which is great.

"I was always wearing big, baggy tops and trousers, but now I can wear the things I didn't dare wear before."

Helen Perry, the area manager for Weight Watchers in Oxfordshire, said: "It was a great achievement to lose that much weight - especially with two small children. It should improve her health, quality of life and self-esteem. It is amazing that just changing your eating habits can have this effect."