TWO members of a Suffolk slimming club are enjoying a new lease of life after fighting the flab with a vengeance.Yvonne Coolbear has been married for twelve years - but for only six of those has she been able to wear her wedding ring.

TWO members of a Suffolk slimming club are enjoying a new lease of life after fighting the flab with a vengeance.

Yvonne Coolbear has been married for twelve years - but for only six of those has she been able to wear her wedding ring.

And Linda Gildersleeves' massive boost in confidence has led her to volunteer to help victims of crime in Ipswich.

Both women are members of a slimming club in Walton and since losing weight they have found a new lease of life.

Mrs Coolbear, 38, lost four stone in one year and has dropped from a size 22 to a size 14.

After putting weight on after her daughter, Erin, was born six years ago, she had almost given up on the dream of wearing her wedding ring again.

But the self-employed trainer, who lives in Bucklesham with her husband Chris joined the Slimming World class and can wear the ring with pride and has more confidence and energy.

"I have exercised and dieted on and off for years and vowed I would never diet again. I don't look at this like a diet but as the way I'm going to eat for the rest of my life."

Mrs Coolbear, who still treats herself to a chocolate bar every day, now revels in being able to shop at high street stores and also enjoys a better relationship with her husband. "I feel happier than I was," she said.

Linda Gildersleeves won the woman of the year award at the group after shedding eight stone in less than two years - dropping from size 36 to size 22.

Miss Gildersleeves, 44, said she has been trying different diets since she was seven but only in January last year did she start to lose the pounds after a friend who lives in Felixstowe urged her to join the Walton club, despite living in the centre of Ipswich.

Miss Gildersleeves' increase in confidence has led her to join the victim support group based in Elm Street, Ipswich, where she gives up her spare time to visit victims of crime and give them comfort and support. She also works as a classroom assistant at Causton Primary School in Felixstowe two afternoons a week.

"I can honestly say I have not been hungry at all," she said since joining the club. "I'm a lot more confident than I used to be, I have taken up volunteering jobs."