ALANNAH Chant is a shadow of her former self - and she could not be more delighted. At 15 she was an unhappy 18 stone girl who was acutely self-conscious about her weight.

But since shedding five stone with the help of a slimming club, she has become a healthy, bubbly and confident young woman.

"I've always been bigger than the average child, but it didn't bother me until I got bullied at school," said Alannah "I had one very bad year when I lost all my friends. Out of 164 days of school, there were 94 when I wasn't there. I stayed in my bed, watched TV programmes and watched all the skinny girls, wishing I was them.

Alannah, of Moordown, in Bournemouth, avoided shopping with her friends, but if she did want to buy clothes, she would hide the tag so no-one would see the size. In summer she sweltered in long-sleeved T-shirts and jeans.

On her 15th birthday, she weighed herself and was horrified to find she was 18 stone.

"I tried Weight Watchers, the Atkins diet, calorie counting and starving myself - drinking a glass of water and eating a piece of fruit - but I would make myself too hungry, then eat even more."

In August 2005, she joined a Slimming World group in Muscliff. By October she had lost two stone on its healthy eating regime. Her family joined in to support her and the weight continued to roll off.

Now 16, shop worker Alannah says: "It's changed my life completely. The biggest thing for me is my confidence. Before I lost weight I would hardly ever smile. Now I make conversation with customers."