A SUFFOLK teenager is starting a dance workshop to help girls worried about their weight, with the aid of a national TV company.

A SUFFOLK teenager is starting a dance workshop to help girls worried about their weight, with the aid of a national TV company.

Sophie Brooks, 17, of Bury St Edmunds, is running the workshop for teenagers who want to lose weight without having to diet.

She will be helped by the ITV Fixers project.

'Dancing - not dieting - for fitness in Bury' is aimed at encouraging 13-19-year-old girls of any ability to attend if they have issues with their own weight.

Self-confessed “non-dancer” Sophie, who is studying mechanics at West Suffolk College, is concerned at the pressure put on young girls to stay slim.

“Body image becomes very over-rated and causes people to do silly things; make themselves ill, they stop eating and that makes them feel worse,” she said.

“I know a few of my friends are in the same position - they want to lose weight but don't want to go on a diet.”

Sophie is running the workshop with help of professional dance teacher Francesca Winters, 23, of Rattlesden.

She thinks the project is a “great idea” and hopes weekly classes will run following the free taster session on Thursday .

She said: “The Fixers are keeping it well structured and organised and making sure that the project is financially supported so that Sophie doesn't have to use her own money to make it run.”

A spokesperson for ITV Fixers said; “One thing the Fixers do is make sure that each and every project actually happens.”

The project will receive a three minute slot on the ITV Anglia News launch of ITV Fixers in the last week of November.

The free taster session runs from 5-6pm on Thursday, at The Guildhall, Bury St Edmunds. Anyone interested in attending can contact Francesca on 01449 73 70 52 or Josh at ITV Fixers on 07967 44 33 25.