A WEIGHT has been lifted for slimmers across East Lancashire when they shed a collective 10 stone in their first week back to class after lockdown.

Sam Richardson, who runs a Slimming World group on a Tuesday evening at St James Church, Lower Darwen, had been holding virtual sessions via Zoom since lockdown began in March.

But following the easing of some restrictions, Slimming World’s real-life groups reopened in August, and within the first week of jumping back on the scales, members at Sam’s class shed a staggering 10 stone between them.

Sam said: “In just one week, the weight losses alone have shown how much our members love being together in group and how powerful that experience is to achieving such great results.”