Mr and Mrs Slimmer

Neil and Kathy Feeley's burgeoning weight drove their 16-year marriage to the brink of breakdown.

They constantly bickered about each other's size - she at 16st 9lb and he 18st 8lb - and its impact on their health.

Mrs Feeley was told she could not be operated on because she was so overweight while their 13-year-old daughter Rachel was bullied at school by classmates who taunted her about her podgy parents.

The Feeleys decided to take action. They joined a diet club, shed almost 13st between them - and were yesterday named Mr and Mrs Slimming World 2004.

'Neil wanted us both to go to Slimming World but I was terrified and kept putting it off,' said Mrs Feeley, 35, who has lost 6st 3lb. 'In the end he practically dragged me along - and I'm so glad he did. It has changed both our lives.'

The couple, who are both fork-lift drivers, started their sensible eating plan in January last year. They also turned a spare room at their Barnsley home into a mini-gym.

'We never used to control what we ate, when we ate and how much we ate,' said Mrs Feeley, 35, who has gone from a 24 dress size to a 12. 'Although we still eat the same foods, we're a lot more careful with how much we eat and how we prepare it. We both feel so much more confident and energetic.'

Mr Feeley, 39, is now 12st 2lb - and slimmer than he was when he was a teenager.

He and his wife now need new wedding rings - because their old ones no longer fit.