75991-02/12A SWINDON gym is helping two flabby friends sweat off the pounds for charity. Fitness First in Eldene has given John Donaldson and Tony Scull free membership until their sponsored slim for Prospect Hospice ends in July.

Staff have also thrown in a personal trainer who will help the pair shed some of their bulk during three-times-a-week sessions.

Now more than a month into their challenge, with the added help of an expert from Slimming World, they have both lost a stone and a half.

John, of Greenmeadow, is determined to fight the flab so he can squeeze into a suit before marrying Jenny Doyle, 47, in December, said the gym was helping weight fall off.

"We're doing gentle exercise to get some of the muscles working that we haven't used for a while," said the 44-year-old who now weighs under 36 stone.

"We've also been given tasks to do when we're not at the gym, like walking a mile.

"When I got out of bed the morning after our first session muscles I didn't know I had ached.

"But we're both feeling healthier which is a good thing and the gym has been absolutely fantastic by helping us for free."

Tony, of Hawthorne Avenue, Pinehurst, who now weighs 38 stone 12lbs, said he sweated buckets during the first workout.

""I hadn't done any exercise for years so it was hard going but I had another session today which was a bit easier," said the 30-year-old father-of-two.

"The gym is not just for fit people. It is for everyone."

Darren Brooks, 33, health and fitness manager at Fitness First said, because of their size, John and Tony had been turned away from other gyms.

He said: "We were appalled when we heard. We are a big family here and John and Tony are now very much part of that family. We will help them lose weight if they are determined to do it."

The friends, who hope to raise more than £15,000 for the Wroughton-based hospice, are regulars at the Tap and Barrel and the Wheatsheaf in Swindon.

John admits he used to drink 20 to 30 pints on a night out but the pubs, who are helping with the fundraising efforts, are now only allowing them to drink water.

The challenge will end in early July. To make a pledge, phone 01793 723246 or 01793 432587.

Ben Payne