When Steve Hill got stuck in the back of his daughter-in-law’s car after a particularly filling festive season, he knew it was time to take drastic action about his weight.

Weighing 18 stones, the father-of-two from Oldbury felt uncomfortable and unhappy, and the car incident was the final straw. He and his wife June went along to their local WeightWatchers club at Uplands School and started a year of dedicated dieting and exercise which has completely changed their lives.

“It was New Year’s Eve in 2006, and I’d just completely over-indulged,” said Mr Hill.

“My daughter-in-law was dropping us off to the casino for a night out, and I just couldn’t lift myself out of the car – I didn’t have the strength to lift my own weight.

“Then I spent the rest of the night feeling awful, and I just said to my wife ‘I’ve got to do something’.”

Now superslimmer Mr Hill is down to 14st 5lb and his wife, aged 60, lost a stone to get down to 9st.

“I suppose in the grand scheme of things four stone isn’t huge but to me it meant going from a 42-inch waist to a 36-inch,” said Mr Hill, 50.

“I went on a bit of a shopping spree at first; it made a massive difference in how I looked.”

He added: “June’s always been petite and hardly had anything to lose but even she dropped a dress size.”

Mr Hill cites his success as “saying goodbye” to his three favourite indulgences – cheese, alcohol and chips – and says he had nothing but support from his male friends.

“They didn’t make fun really. I think people just watched in amazement as the weight dropped of,” he said.

He says the couple now have a new lease of life and more energy to enjoy spending time with their 10 grandchildren.

“Being big never stopped me being active but it did make everything harder,” he added.

“Now we’ll go for walks, go swimming, all those things, and I can enjoy them without feeling self-conscious.”