A GAS engineer from Weymouth has shed six stone before tying the knot in the Caribbean next month.

The new slimline Ross Sutherland, 35, has gone from 17st 10lb to a trim 11st 10lb through a combination of careful dieting and exercise.

The self-employed plumber and heating engineer said he was now looking forward to two weeks off the diet when he marries Jo Davies in the Caribbean in February.

Mr Sutherland, of Milton Terrace, said: “I knew I needed to lose a bit of weight, then I saw a friend of mine who went on the All About W8 programme and I saw that it worked from them.

“I suppose my appearance was part of it but you also think about the health factors.

“You’ve only got to turn on the TV these days to see the effects on your health of being overweight.

“I started to think that if I knew something needed to be done about it, that I should just get on and do it.”

Mr Sutherland, who is 6ft 1in, said he lost roughly three-quarters of the weight he needed to by eating healthier meals before exercise became part of his routine.

He said he began his new exercise regimen by walking his dog Jake four miles every day before progressing on to swimming every day.

Mr Sutherland said he now goes to the gym several times a week and is reaping the rewards of living a healthier lifestyle.

He said: “I feel like I’ve got a lot more energy now and I just feel a lot better all round.

“My knees don’t hurt me as much as they used to and I don’t get as many aches and pains as I used to.”

Mr Sutherland said he first saw his weight start to balloon while working away in London four days a week last year, often dining out and eating unhealthy fast food ‘on the run’.

Mr Sutherland added: “I was the best man at a friend’s wedding recently and I felt so much smarter in my suit than I would have done before losing the weight, so now I can’t wait for my own wedding.

“It’s a relief to have shifted so much weight. This is the best I have felt for years.”