A BURNLEY mum-of-four has shed nine stone and undergone £70,000 worth of cosmetic surgery to become half the woman she once was.

Colne Asda worker Rachel Leeming weighed 19st when she was at her heaviest but after a strict diet and five operations she can now slip into a size 10 dress.

And millions of viewers can watch her incredible journey when she takes part in Living TV's Extreme Makeover UK show, which gives people a once in a lifetime chance to be transformed by Hollywood-style surgery.

Rachel, a 32-year-old mum, applied to the programme as she realised she could miss seeing her children grow up if her weight continued to spiral out of control.

She first became pregnant when she was 15 with her daughter Amy, now 16, who Rachel's mother brought up as her own. A year later she met long-term partner Graham, 35, and they had three children together - Jake, 15; Maisie, 14, and Oscar, 10.

Rachel, of Raglan Road, who admits she used to guzzle cakes and pies morning, noon and night, said: "I felt very unhealthy and knew that every day I was killing myself with food.

"I would eat everything that was bad for me, like takeaways, kebabs, hamburgers, fried chicken and pizzas. So I made up my mind that I was going to change and went on the Weightwatchers points plan."

The former Habergham High School pupil dropped 11 dress sizes in just one year but was left with saggy skin all over her new slimmed-down body.

She was desperate to go under the knife but couldn't afford the operations on her wage as a supermarket shelf-stacker. She explained: "Despite the weight loss I was disappointed with the results as I had considerable excess skin, which left me with 'bingo wings'.

I felt I had missed out on my youth and wanted to devote some time to myself for the sake of me and my family."

When she applied to the show she was given a blank cheque to transform her looks and underwent two months of invasive surgery.

And to make her feel more at home it was Burnley-born Harley Street surgeon, Nick Percival, who carried out the operations.

She had a nose job, boob job and tummy tuck first, followed by an arm reduction to remove her 'bingo wings' and thigh and bum lift six weeks later.

To complete her new look, Rachel then had £12,500 worth of dental work to give her a dazzling Hollywood smile. And to keep her pearly whites in tip-top condition she even packed in her 60-a-day smoking habit.

She was kept away from her family and friends for 10 weeks before her new look was finally revealed at Burnley's Towneley Hall last month.

She added: "I used to look like the Honey Monster. Now I have curves and I look and feel like a girl.

"My family were all in tears when they saw me. I definitely won't be letting myself slip back to how I was."

The show starts on Thursday and Rachel's story will be aired on November 10.