A superslimmer has shed almost half his body weight to help celebrate his silver wedding anniversary.

Tony Ayling, 49, of Norton Avenue, Canvey, dropped an amazing ten stones in just seven months after vowing to return to his marriage weight for the special day.

The father-of-two is now a shadow of his former tubby self, weighing in at an impressive 15st 7lb after years of tipping the scales at 25st 4lb.

He said: "It was coming up to my 25th wedding anniversary, plus I was getting close to the 50 mark, so I thought I'd try and lose the weight.

"I wanted to see my own kids grow up, get married and I thought I should do it before I got unwell.

"I felt I was going to have a stroke and not be here for much longer."

Mr Ayling's weight began to spiral out of control while working in London's financial district.

The lunchtime drinking and evening takeaways began to take their toll and put his heart under severe strain.

He said: "I felt tired all the time and didn't want to do simple maintenance jobs around the house.

"My knees were playing up and I got very out of breath going up and down the stairs."

When his job came under threat, Mr Ayling became even more determined to lose the pounds and embarked on a strict diet using shakes and soups, plus exercise, with the help of slimming group Lighter Life.

He followed a rigid plan of four shakes or soups a day, plus four litres of water.

He attended weekly meetings with fellow dieters, where they were weighed in to keep a check on their progress. He was also examined regularly by his doctor.

Chicken and mushroom soups were followed by chocolate and vanilla shakes to keep some variety in his diet.

Despite the strict limits to his intake, he said: "It wasn't difficult at all, though I thought it was going to be. The main crux of it was drinking the water to keep me hydrated.

"I wish I'd found out about it earlier. I don't look gaunt and I haven't got a saggy chin."

With his new svelte figure, Mr Ayling has not looked back and is now enjoying life to the full.

He added: "You've got to be in the right frame of mind to do it, but hopefully my experience will inspire other people. One of my friends has just started the same diet and he has lost 18Ibs already since Christmas."

As her husband's weight continued to balloon, Mrs Ayling began to fear for his health and his chances of finding at new job.

She said: "Healthwise I worried about him and when his job was under threat of redundancy, I thought people might look at him in interviews and think he might have a lot of problems."

Describing his amazing physical transformation, she added: "I've got a new man in my life now.

"He was the one that made it work. He's more confident, outgoing and energetic and enjoys the gym."

"People don't recognise him now. When he was doing the diet, every time his friends saw him he had changed. The weight was falling off him."

After successfully sticking to his regime, Mr Ayling and his wife Ann, 47, marked their anniversary on November 14 with a trip to a health spa, where they took full advantage of the gym and swimming pool.

His baggy old clothes have been given away to the charity shop and he cycles the ten-mile round trip to Benfleet station every day.

The devoted pair have also had new white gold rings made to celebrate their marriage and Mr Ayling is finally able to wear his old wedding ring again.

He said: "My family think it's great and have encouraged me all the time.

"Ann is also very proud of me and is really happy to see me back to how I was."