Ref. 75890-95FAT friends have been given a tour around a hospice to see how cash raised from a sponsored slim will be used.

John Donaldson and Tony Scull are hoping to shed some of their bulk in aid of Prospect Hospice in Wroughton.

A month into their challenge, the pair, who between them, tipped the scales at just under half a tonne at their first weigh in, have each already lost nearly a stone.

John, of Greenmeadow, who is determined to fight the flab, so he can squeeze into a suit before marrying Jenny Doyle, 47, in Decem-ber, said the hospice did an excellent job. "Unfortunately, I've had to go to the hospice before as a couple members of my family have died there," said the 44-year-old who runs a furniture business in Gorse Hill and weighs about 36 stone.

"It's a wonderful place which gives people dignity before they die."

Tony, of Hawthorne Avenue, Pinehurst, who weighs more than 40 stone, said that seeing the facilities at hospice made him even more determined to raise money for the cause. "It's a lovely environment for patients," said the 30-year-old father-of-two.

It costs £3.2m a year to run the hospice with about £2m of this coming from the local community.

Community fundraiser Maggie Gill said: "I think it's absolutely terrific that John and Tony are doing this as they are not only thinking about themselves but our patients as well."

The friends, who hope to raise more than £15,000 between them, have a larger than life presence at their locals, the Tap and Barrel and the Wheatsheaf in Swindon.

Both pubs are supporting their fundraising efforts.

And Peter Kidd, of Slimming World, is currently putting them through their paces at free classes in Haydon Wick.

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