Super slimmers who shed 168 stone in one month during lockdown have donated their old wardrobe to help a North East charity.
Members from Slimming World's Central East Gateshead groups donated 38 bags of clothes that no longer fit to the Great North Air Ambulance.
The slimmers from the seven groups in the area wanted to do something to celebrate their weight loss while face-to-face meetings were unable to take place during the pandemic.
And after witnessing some of the incredible fundraisers to support the NHS during lockdown, the group decided to host a 'clothes throw' to raise money for the Air Ambulance, which also plays a vital role in saving lives in the region.
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Consultant Gemma Fisher said: "More than ever, Covid has made people appreciate the amazing healthcare we have in this country.
"We've all seen the fundraisers for the NHS and we thought this year the North East Air Ambulance would be a great charity to support."
Following their weight loss during May, around 700 Slimming World members cleared out their wardrobes and donated their big and baggy clothes to charity.
In Gateshead, 380kg of clothes were collected and taken to Great North Air Ambulance charity shops.
Consultant Lauren Cotes, who came up with the idea to donate members' oversized clothes, said: "Our members in Gateshead during the month of May lost an astonishing 168 stone between them.
"That's the equivalent of the average weight of 14 male men together. We were blown away by this and thought it would be fantastic to see how much we could donate.
"We managed to donate 380kg of clothes to the charity and we so proud of our members' valiant efforts in achieving what they have."
After months of virtual meetings during lockdown, Slimming World consultants are excited to resume face-to-face meetings.
Gemma added: "We're so proud of how much members have achieved during the pandemic, especially when we've been unable to meet in person.
"We're so excited to reopen groups now and get back to some normality, but it's been lovely to host the clothes throw as a way of marking the achievements of members even though we haven't been together in group."
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