Super-fit mum Emma Fellingham has gone from overweight to toned by shedding more than five stone to take on the London Marathon.

Last year, mother-of-two Emma was so overweight and out of shape she would get out of breath tying her shoe laces up.

Now the only time she is out of breath is when she has completed her regular 15-mile run at the weekend.

Emma, 30, of Saunders Hill, Brighton, tipped the scales at just over 16 stone last year - more than five stone more than the ideal weight for her 5ft 6ins height - when she decided it was time to tackle the flab.

Emma, who used to wear a size 20 dress, said: "I had trouble picking up my children and I would be out of breath.

"I would also go to the park with them and I once got stuck at the top of a slide and had to push myself out I was so big."

Emma, who has two children Katherine, three, and Sophie, 18 months, avoided exercise and moving as much as possible. She would either jump on the bus or hop in the car for short journeys.

She loved takeaways - curry being her favourite - and snacked on chocolate cookies, crisps and stacks of cheese since getting married to husband Simon six years ago.

Her decision to beat the bulge came when she saw a photo of herself.

She said: "There was one photo of me sitting on the sofa holding Katherine.

"All you can see is me all around her.

"I thought I could not spent the rest of my life like that."

Emma signed up for a Slimming World class in Patcham in October 2004 and has lost more than five stone with a healthy eating regime.

She can slip into a size 12 dress and has shed both her excess weight and her bad attitude towards exercise.

She has joined a gym, runs up to six miles a day and at weekends will slip in a15-mile run.

Emma will run the London Marathon in April with her mum Sue Convery, 50, of Bevendean, Brighton, for the British Heart Foundation.

She said: "Physically I feel fantastic. Before I couldn't even run to catch the bus but now I'm going to run a marathon."

Emma has already run two half-marathons in the New Forest and the Great South Run.

She is also setting a healthier example to her children.

She added: "My daughter said to me the other day, 'When I grow up I'm going to be a race runner.'"

Emma was so pleased with her own weight loss she has started her own Slimming World class in Moulsecoomb, Brighton.

The first class is open to men, women and young people.

The class is being held at Moulsecoomb Primary School, Brighton, at 7pm.

For more information, call 07951 546859.