SCHOOLBOY Lucas Chesworth finds his grandma more cuddly than ever -- thanks to her losing a whopping 11 stone in weight.

The 13-year-old is so delighted he can now wrap his arms around granny Linda Chesworth that he wrote a letter of thanks to the slimming club which helped her.

Lucas, a pupil at Harrop Fold School, Little Hulton, praised Weightwatchers leader Elaine Simpkin for making his grandmother a "trendy nanna".

Linda, aged 57, is 5ft 2in in height and weighed 19-and-a-half stone four years ago, but is now just over eight-and-a-half stone.

The mother-of-three, who has nine grandchildren, says her weight ballooned after an operation and she became determined to slim down after developing breathing problems.

She lost the bulk of her weight over the last 12 months.

The transformation was so dramatic that when she went out with her husband, their friends thought he was seeing another woman!

Linda, who now enjoys swimming and long walks, is determined to lose even more weight and will continue to attend the slimming classes in Walkden.

She said: "I had no idea Lucas had written to Elaine until she showed me the letter.

"I burst into tears because it was such a lovely thing to do."

Lucas, who lives just a few doors away from Linda, in Uplands Drive, Little Hulton, said: "I just wanted to thank the lady for helping to make my nanna look so slim.

"Every time I go round to her house she is talking about Weightwatchers.

"I can put my arms around her easily now. She looks dead trendy these days."

Weightwatchers leader Elaine said: "The letter was a lovely surprise. Linda has done extremely well to lose that much weight."

jbullock@boltoneveningnews.co.uk

SMILES BETTER: Lucas Chesworth is delighted to be able to wrap his arms around gran Linda