PETE Russell hasn’t been on an aeroplane for 20 years. But it’s not because he has a phobia of flying, it’s because he knew he was carrying excess baggage.

But after losing more than eight stone in less than 10 months, the 54-year-old father of three has just booked a flight to Spain – his first foreign holiday in two decades.

“I was always too embarrassed to fly because I knew I would have to wear what I call the ‘fat man seat belt’ which is always bright orange.

“I used to try and laugh it off but deep down it hurt,” says Pete who lives with his wife in Wareham.

“There was also the time I sat down in a plastic chair at a friend’s barbecue and it broke and 30 faces turned to stare at me – I just wanted the ground to swallow me up.”

At his heaviest, Pete tipped the scales at 25 stone. The ex-serviceman says the weight piled on after he was diagnosed with a tumour on his spine 12 years ago and he was bed-ridden for six months.

“I used to be in the army so I was quite active but after the operation on my back the weight really started to pile on. I tried every diet you can think of but nothing worked for me.”

As a result of his size, Pete also developed Type 2 diabetes and was soon on doctor’s orders to lose weight.

“My wife had already been going to our local Slimming World club and she suggested I join her. I didn’t want to go at first because I was Mr Cynical. I thought all diets were a waste of time. I thought they were just a quick fix and didn’t work long term.

“Then she told me I had been eating Slimming World meals for the past few weeks and I hadn’t even noticed. It didn’t feel like a diet so I decided to go along.”

Pete lost eight and a half pounds in the first week and was soon competing with his wife to see who could reach their target weight first.

Now Pete, who is 6ft tall, weighs 15 stone and is no longer on medication for his diabetes. He has also become a Slimming World consultant and has just started his own weight loss class.

“I still can’t quite believe it because I lost the weight so quickly. I feel like a different person.

“My children say they have noticed the change in me. I used to hide away because I was ashamed of what I’d become.

“Now I have got my confidence back and I have got lots more energy – which is just as well as I have five granddaughters and my first grandson on the way.”

Pete’s class meets tonight (every Wednesday) at The d’Urbervilles Centre in Wool at 7.30pm