Taxi Girl Too Big To Drive

Carol Stradling works for a cab firm but always feared she was too fat to get behind the wheel herself.

Radio girl Carol weighed more than 20 stone and was so chubby she couldn't squeeze in the driver's seat without a lot of effort and was always too embarrassed to start dieting classes.

Now,just over a year later,she has slammed the brakes on her bad diet and unheathly lifestyle by losing more than eight stone.

Her new figure has also given her the kick-start she needed to get behind the wheel and begin taking lessons.

Carol,from Wales,said "I've had my provisional licence since 1988 but have never worked up the courage to learn to drive.

"I used to feel embarrassed and ashamed because I was so large.I really did not like myself or what I looked like but it was reaching the point where I had to do something because of health reasons."

She joined a local slimming class after a leaflet came through her door."I was really sceptical" she confessed.

"When I joined the class I thought 'how can I eat so much and lose weight?'.But it's all about changing your eating habits rather than the amount."

The weekly sessions involve not only being weighed,but also image therapy classes to boost confidence."It really helped being with people who were going through the same thing as me."

Now Carol,who lives with her partner John Jones,has been asked to become a slimming class co-ordinator for the local area.