Overweight people who visit their doctor about an illness may soon be referred to a slimming club to help them shed the pounds.

The scheme has been pioneered by the South Derbyshire NHS Trust and could soon be introduced in the Brighton and Hove area.

The trust formed a partnership with Slimming World to create a slimming on referral scheme.

This allowed GPs to refer patients to weekly slimming classes to improve their health, reducing the need for the NHS to fund treatments for obesity-related illnesses.

Doctors referred 107 patients to free Slimming World classes for three months to kick-start their weight-loss programme and help tackle their weight-related illnesses.

In the UK, 50 per cent of people are overweight.

Following the scheme's success in Derbyshire, Denys Smith, Slimming World's team developer for Brighton and Hove, and her team of class consultants are introducing the scheme to every GPs' surgery in the area.

Mrs Smith said: "I have a list of surgeries from the primary care trust and we are in the process of going to each of them offering the service."

She is confident the scheme will be adopted officially.

She said: "This is an essential partnership, as obesity is here to stay, with a huge cost to the NHS.

"It is really frightening, especially as lifestyles are leading to greater obesity in our children too."

Mrs Smith, of Eastbourne, added: "As a slimming organisation, we have a responsibility to the health of the nation and we take it very seriously."

There are 87 Slimming World classes in Sussex, with 20 of them between Seaford and Shoreham.

In Derbyshire, patients were referred to a class near their home and given vouchers for free membership and 12 consecutive weeks attendance.

Their progress was monitored at three and six-monthly intervals.

Of the 107 Derbyshire patients who were referred, 34 continued to pay for classes themselves after the free three-month period was over and were still attending classes after six months.

To find your nearest class, call 01323 734469.