A WOMAN who has lost almost five stones in a year after challenging herself to exercise in a gym has backed a drive to improve health.

Martha Dollery, 25, said she had feared entering Stokesley Leisure Centre’s gym before attending an open weekend there last year, after student life followed by full-time work had taken its toll on her weight.

She said: “I thought everyone would be looking at me, but I was pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere.

“I urge anyone in my position not to wait because of what you think, come and give it a go, the things I was worried about were not even there.”

After becoming a member at the centre, Ms Dollery spent the first three months concentrating on the gym, swimming and sauna, before joining a range of fitness classes and is now seven pounds off her goal weight.

She will visit the Stokesley centre for Hambleton District Council’s Big Weekend, an initiative to increase the number of people taking regular exercise and raise awareness of what its leisure centres have to offer, on October 12 and 13.

Over the weekend residents will be offered free gym trials, group exercise consultations, guided tours of the facilities and a family swim ticket for £7.

For details, visit hambletonleisure.co.uk