MOTHERLY love was taken to a new extreme by Kim Harrison, of Laverstock, who lost nearly five stone to save the life of her son.

In July, she donated one of her kidneys to Nicholas (18), who was born with a kidney defect but is now on the road to recovery and has left the ties of daily dialysis behind him.

In January, his health deteriorated and doctors at Guy's Hospital in London decided he needed a transplant.

Kim and her husband Keith (48), who have two other children, Philip (15) and Ruth (9), decided that, if one of them could donate a kidney to Nicholas, they would.

"We wanted to do a live donation if we could because of the waiting lists," Kim said.

She turned out to be a perfect match, but it was an uphill struggle for her to overcome the obstacle of her weight.

At 5ft 2in tall and weighing 16st 7lb, Kim was too heavy for the transplant to take place safely.

"There was no way they would operate on me at the size I was and I knew I had to lose weight," she said.

Doctors warned that Kim would have to lose five stone.

"It wasn't just about losing weight but about my overall fitness," she said.

Kim worked as a classroom assistant at Wyndham Park Infants' School and St Martin's Infants but gave up in February to devote her time to the fitness regime.

With the help and support of Salisbury Weight Watchers and staff at the Guilder Centre gym, Kim was soon on the way to shedding the pounds.

"I started walking everywhere, and the parking in Salisbury is so awful that I now leave the car at home and walk in," she said.

The operation was arranged for July 31. Kim, weighing 12st, had not made the target but the doctors gave the go-ahead and Kim's hard work had paid off.

The operation went according to plan. Nicholas is still being monitored closely with blood tests, to check the kidney is functioning properly.

Kim said: "Nicholas looks really well."