Ed Beard was fed up of being the only man in his slimming class - so he set up his own classes for males.

Salesman Ed, 59, from Littlehampton, reached 20st and kept growing, which he put down to his lifestyle "on the road".

He would stop to eat fatty food at fast food outlets between jobs whenever he could.

He said: "I was very nervous and felt awkward when I walked into my first slimming class and was faced with a sea of women and only a handful of men.

"I gradually felt more at ease but that initial walking in makes all the difference.

"I want to make sure that when a man walks into my class he is initially put at ease.

"Men sometimes don't admit they have a weight problem and are therefore less likely to do anything about their increasing weight.

"Hence, there are more overweight men than women.

"I am positive more men would join classes if they were made to feel more at home in them and that is what I intend to do."

Having shed 4st, Ed has decided to share his success story with other men and make them feel more at home as they fight the flab.

When his grandson Joshua was born 15 months ago, Ed was topping the scales at 21st 5lbs and had a 46in waist.

Having lost weight, he can now happily play with Joshua without fear of getting breathless.

Ed's Slimming World classes are already attracting a lot of interest from overweight males.

The first will be held at Monks Farm Presbytery, North Road, Lancing, on Tuesday at 5.30pm and 7pm.

Ed said women would be welcome too, as some preferred to talk about their weight problems away from other women.

He said: "I will be talking about my own experiences and how I have slimmed down from a 46in waist to a 38in waist and have lost more than 4st since my peak weight in August of last year.

"I was heading for a heart attack and I still need to lose more weight.

"Hopefully my classes will encourage more men to join slimming classes.

"But I must admit it was a woman who first told me to think seriously about losing weight."

Anyone wanting to join Ed's classes should call 01903 716388.