A WOMAN dealing with child obesity has just been awarded a grant to help her try and deal with the worsening problem.

Dawn Shotton, 47, of Hartlepool, who used to be an NHS dietician, is one of the first recipients of a £200 grant from the new Women-in-Business organisation.

Latest Government statistics show that the number of obese five-year-olds in Redcar and east Cleveland has risen by almost a quarter in none year, while in Middlesbrough 11.1 per cent of five-year-olds are obese and in Stockton 10.5 per cent are too fat.

Ms Shotton, who said she had become frustrated at the NHS arguing there was a lack of resources for a worsening problem, said: “Over six weeks I go into schools and teach children about the foods that are good for them. We learn about fruit smoothies instead of sugary fizzy drinks, how to make pizza from healthy ingredients and experiment with new fruits that many of them haven’t seen before.” But the her Dietwise programme goes further - Dawn also runs cookery and diet classes for mums and dads in order to help the whole family.

Dawn is one of the first recipients of grant aid from the North East Foundation for Women in Enterprise, a new organisation set up to support women in business.

The Foundation was established last year to help women in the region who are running their own businesses. The development fund, set up with help from North-East legal firm Hewitts, makes grant awards several times a year.

Brenda Davidson, managing partner at Hewitts and a chairman of the foundation, said: “The first grant applications proved to us what a vibrant women-in-business community we have in the North-East. We are delighted to be able to support them and will be watching their progress with interest.”

She has used the grant to buy a play parachute which shows the eat-well plate; a national healthy diet tool.

The Women-in-Business Foundation awards small grants and the closing date for the next set of grant applications is Friday, January 15. Applications can be made online via thefwe.co.uk