Two train operatives have shared their weight loss journey after teaming up to shed three stone apiece.

Train driver Dean Barnes, 37, and conductor, 35, Al Collis, both work on the Greater Anglia routes out of Ipswich.

They joined forces to lose weight together, launching a YouTube channel about their progress.

On November 4 and 5 they shared their story at the rail industry’s Rail Wellbeing Live event to inspire 9,000 other participants to focus on health and wellbeing.

MORE — BT faces threat of possible strike action in row over jobs and payAfter Dean reached around 16.5 stone and Al 20.5 stone in weight they talked to each other about how their weight was making them unhappy and becoming a problem for their health and relationships.

Both had tried various diets with little success — so decided to they needed to focus on losing weight and staying positive.

They teamed up to start a YouTube and Twitter channel where they could talk about their issues with weight and how they were going to tackle them practically in their everyday lives.

Since August, Dean and Al have been using their videos to motivate themselves and set challenges from setting personal meal plans to running 60 miles in a month, and testing apps and technology aimed at helping them keep fit.

They are now 12 weeks into a 52-week plan during which they hope to shed at least three stone each.

“Driving a train can be lonely, which is partly why I eat a lot at work,” explained Dean.

“We’ve both got families and we decided we needed to lose fat and get fitter but finding a way of doing it where we wouldn’t fail like we had in the past so many times.

“The YouTube channel was really Al’s idea and it was our way of getting us motivated and keeping us accountable to losing weight and so far, fingers crossed, it seems to be working.

“Wellbeing is really important in the rail industry, especially during these trying times with Covid and I hope our example inspires others to tackle the issues that affect them”.

Al said: “Dean and I got fed up with our weight not going down after various attempts individually so we made a pact with each other that we could become fit and healthy for the sake of ourselves, our families and each other. The videos we make together are our experiences of trying to lose weight in the real world and there’s certainly no fake glamour to what we do. So far, we’re on track to achieve our goals and with hundreds of followers already, we are hoping to inspire others too.”

Dean and Al’s weight-loss journey can be found on their YouTube channel at: here or their Twitter feed here