Slimmer bins baggy clothes for bikinis

A super slimmer who used to hide under baggy clothes before losing four stone is now celebrating a year of running her own classes to encourage others to shed the pounds.

Sally Finnegan went from a dress size 22 to a size 10 in less than a year and managed to get her family to eat better as a result.

Now the former Wednesbury and West Bromwich market trader works for WeightWatchers and supports dozens of other slimmers in their bid to be trim. The mother-of-three said she was horrified when her doctor told her she was obese when she went for a routine check up.

"I had no idea how much I weighed and couldn't believe it when he said I was 14 stones seven pounds," said Mrs Finnegan, 36, of Hadley Road, Oldbury. "I knew I had to cook different food for myself so I did the same meals for my family. My husband ended up losing a stone and a half and my son's school said he had a lot more energy and was paying better attention."

Husband Derek, aged 38, and children Danielle, 16, Molly, nine, and Dillon, five, all had to adapt to a diet of only healthy, fresh food with fewer treats and no convenience dishes.

Mrs Finnegan, who used to sell toys at West Bromwich and Wednesbury markets, so impressed her class leader Tracey Skeffington when she reached 10st 7lb that she was urged to run her own classes.

She now runs five WeightWatchers sessions at Birchley Sports and Social Club in Rowley Regis, Tipton Sports Academy, Brierley Hill Methodist Church, Uplands Manor Primary School in Smethwick and the Village Hotel in Dudley.

Mrs Finnegan's classes are on Wednesdays and Thursdays in the mornings and evenings while the Village Hotel session is at 9.30am on Saturdays.

She said: "When I was working on the market stalls I used to just cover myself up and hide under baggy clothes. Looking at pictures of myself from before I lost the weight I looked 56, not 36. But last year I wore a bikini on holiday for the first time. I feel absolutely fantastic and it's changed my life."

By Daniel Wainwright