Sheila McInnes loved her boyfriend Brian dearly but when he popped the question her heart sank.

Although delighted by his proposal, she could not bear the thought of walking down the aisle tipping the scales at 24stone.

Trapped in a cycle of comfort-eating to combat her cripplingly low self-esteem, Sheila was terrified of being the centre of attention while looking too fat in her wedding dress. So she kept refusing to name the date.

But then a weight-related health scare proved the catalyst for her remarkable transformation. It gave the 32-year-old mum-of-two the determination to shift the pounds - and to walk down the aisle at last.

By the time Sheila tied the MCINNES knot with Brian she appeared a completely different woman. Having lost half her body weight, she looked absolutely stunning in a size 12 bridal gown and was more than happy to have all eyes on her.

Teaching assistant Sheila, from Stockton on Tees, said "I never believed I could lose the weight, so I put marriage to the back of my mind.

"I wanted to be married to Brian but I couldn't do it when I was so big. He wanted to set a date straight away, but I was too insecure. Despite his commitment I kept thinking he would leave me for someone thinner - and the thought of seeing myself in a wedding dress as the fat bride made me feel sick.

"I was aware of my size the whole time. I didn't feel I could go out for a meal because I was frightened I wouldn't fit in the chairs. So having everyone watching me would have been awful for me."

Brian, 39, says: "I always loved Sheila the way she was and I never had a problem with her weight. From the first day we met I felt comfortable around her.

"But when I saw her on our wedding day I was over the moon. I just went: 'Wow.' I felt so, so proud of her and I was holding back the tears."

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