THEY are used to losing hundreds of pounds, but now big-hearted slimmers in Tiverton and Cullompton area have turned their attention to raising them.

Members of the Slimming World groups collected 118 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’.

Also, the rest of the Slimming World Mid & East Devon team have been encouraging members to do the same and between the groups in the area have collected around 450 bags which could equate to around £13,000 for Cancer Research.

A Slimming World spokesperson said: "This year’s Big Slimming World Clothes Throw event has been a fantastic success and I was overwhelmed by the amount of bags my 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.

"Because our members are so sure they’ll never need their ‘big’ clothes again, when I 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 group are losing amazing amounts of weight 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 group 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.”

The clothes collected by Slimming World are been donated to Cancer Research UK shops across the country, with each bag raising up to £25 for the charity. Last year slimmers collected over to £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.