Ross-on-Wye Slimming World is telling the town that their weight loss programme isn't just for ladies.

Debra Maloney, who runs the Ross branch has revealed Ken McLeod as Slimming World's man of the year after he lost 9 stone in lockdown.

Ross-on-Wye Slimming World with Debra takes place every Monday at 9.30am, 3.30pm, 5.30pm and 7pm as well as Tuesdays at 7.30am and 9am.

Ken is a retired police detective who's heart stopped for 10 minutes, and as a result turned his life around by losing over 130lbs.

He started gaining weight when he became less active in his role with the police, reaching more than 23st. Ken's weight crept up on him without him even realising.

He said: "I began to put on weight, but it appeared so gradual I failed to pay much attention to it, my job became more office based and semi-retired, I found I had more time to eat out and socialise, I hadn’t realised just how unwell I was becoming."

He added: "I used to loved gardening and tinkering in the garage on old cars but I would get so breathless and struggle to get up from the floor that I started to lose interest in doing the things I loved the most."

A trip to Scotland with his wife, Jeanette, highlighted just how much his weight was affecting him. The morning of his 39th wedding anniversary, Ken woke with a terrible pain in his calf. Aftertaking a walk to try and ease the pain he became so unwell he collapsed in the street.

He had developed thrombosis which led to a pulmonary embolism and during the journey to hospital, Ken suffered a cardiac arrest and his heart stopped for 10 minutes. Whilst he survived my ordeal, it took him over twelve months to fully recover, mainly due to being so overweight and unfit.

Ken joined Slimming World, shortly before the start of the covid pandemic. Although Ken admits he joined group with trepidation he felt welcomed and was delighted to discover he could enjoy all of his favourite foods by learning how to cook and prepare them in a slightly different way.

Losing weight also made Ken think about how active he was and sparked a new passion for walking.

He said: "My weight had really affected my mobility and even the shortest walks had become such a challenge. Since losing weight I walk as much as possible, living in the countryside and near the coast means I can enjoy exploring lots of new places. I’ve found it’s had such a positive impact on my physical and mental wellbeing. I’ve also started enjoying all my favourite past times again, gardening and working on my cars in the garage. My whole life has changed over the past 18 months. Losing nine stone has given me a renewed sense of confidence, vigour and zest for life. Now I’m fully retired, fit and healthy and I can do things I only dreamed of a year ago. I’ve been given another chance at life and I feel like the man I was in my 30s. My ambition now is to life my life to the fullest, there’s no turning back”