THESE men loved nothing more than to play darts and have a few pints.

But their traditional darts lifestyle, which included a lot of takeaways, beer and not much in the way of exercise, started to take its toll on their health.

So the Halliwell Super League Darts Team decided to shed several stone — while gaining pounds for Bolton Hospice.

The seven men have got rid of their old habits and have lost 12st 12lb between them in just three months.

They improved their fitness by going to the gym three times a week, and have swapped their pints for lighter drinks.

Gary Taylor, aged 31, who is an online darts supplier, said: “The diet has been absolutely fantastic.

“By doing it together, we were able to support each other if any of us got tempted to eat something we shouldn’t.

“We set ourselves the challenge to lose 12 stone in 12 weeks and thought it was probably unrealistic, but we worked really hard and managed to achieve our goal.

“We got a lot of ribbing at first, but when people saw the weight starting to fall off and realised it was for the hospice, people were cheering us on.

“We wanted to raise money for the hospice because it is a charity close to everyone’s hearts as nearly all of us have lost loved ones to cancer.”

They have raised more than £600 for the hospice.