MEMBERS of a recently formed slimming club have received high praise from their leader after losing more than a quarter of a ton between them

The Looking Good club, which meets at Mount Pleasant Community Centre, in Winsford, was only started up several weeks ago and yet the 40 members have lost a total of 581 pounds.

And the youngest member of the club, football nut Shelley Caskey, has decided to shed the pounds to raise money for charity.

The 17-year-old Liverpool fan is donating a pound to the Hillsborough fund for every pound of weight she loses and Sue Daniels, leader of the club, has said she will double the total.

And Shelley has made a flying start having lost 12 pounds in the five weeks she has been attending Sue's classes.

Among the other successful slimmers are a family who have lost five stones between them.

These are Mother Jan Southern, daughter Jackie Dodd, and son-in-law Ian Dodd who is the first member of the club to reach his target weight.

Club leader Sue Daniels said: "I just want to congratulate everybody for all the effort and determination they have shown over the past seven weeks.

"The average weight loss for each person is 16 pounds which is fantastic when you consider the club has only been up and running for a short time.

"Everyone who comes along to our meetings is really motivated, but the classes are still a lot of fun and we are all having a great time."

The class meets at Mount Pleasant Community Centre on Mondays, at 7pm, and the next meeting will be on January 4.

Enrolment will cost £2.95 and charge of £2 for each meeting. Anyone wishing to join can call Sue Daniels on 593339.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.