They’re used to losing hundreds of pounds - but now big-hearted slimmers in West Lancashire have turned their attention to raising them!

Members of local Slimming World groups have collected more than 700 bags of clothes they’ve successfully slimmed out of to raise money for Cancer Research UK as part of the national fundraising campaign, ‘The Big Slimming World Clothes Throw’.

And consultants who run the West Lancashire groups, encouraged members, their friends and families to collect the clothes, shoes and accessories they no longer need to generate stock for the Ormskirk Cancer Research UK shop.

Team developer Tina Whewell told QLocal: "This year’s event has been a fantastic success and I was overwhelmed by the amount of bags our members managed to collect for Cancer Research UK – they really are amazing!

“It was a fantastic atmosphere in group and it was so rewarding to raise such a phenomenal amount of stock for such an incredible cause. It’s not just members of the group who have cleared out their wardrobes – we’ve had great support from the whole community, and I’m still buzzing from all the donations we’ve had!

"Because our members are so sure they’ll never need their ‘big’ clothes again, when we told them about the Big Slimming World Clothes Throw they couldn’t wait to bag them up and donate them to charity.

“Members of the West Lancashire groups have lost an amazing 35,900lb between them since January this year simply by making small changes to the way they shop, cook and eat and by becoming more active. But the best thing about our groups is the caring support members give to each other, spurring each other along and sharing recipes and tips every week.

"The Clothes Throw is a perfect opportunity for all of us to celebrate our success, inspire other people and raise money for charity at the same time.

“There is also a more serious side to our support for Cancer Research UK however: one in two people are diagnosed with some form of cancer during their lifetime, and being overweight can increase the chance of developing the disease.

"It is vital we spread the message that healthy eating, being physically active and losing weight by adopting healthy habits all help reduce the risk of developing cancer."
The clothes collected by Slimming World will be donated to Cancer Research UK shops across the country, with each bag raising up to £25 for the charity. Last year slimmers collected close to £2.1million worth of stock for Cancer Research UK shops around the country and they’re hoping to beat that total this year. All profits go to support the charity’s life-saving work to help beat cancer sooner.