A 60-year-old woman who "dodged a blindness bullet" has revealed how a shock diabetes scare inspired her to shed seven stone in an astonishing body transformation.

Nicki Hunt, a former teaching assistant from Bexleyheath, was warned by her optician in 2015 that her diabetes was beginning to have detrimental effects on her eyesight and could leave it irreparably damaged.

At that point, Nicki weighed 16st 5lbs after years of poor diet and a lack of exercise. However, Nicki explained that as a child she had always maintained a dainty weight.

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“I grew up with my dad in a single-parent house as an only child back in the 60s and 70s when things were tough, and money was scarce.

"We didn’t have benefits in those days and so food was whatever we could afford, which invariably meant lots of sausages and homemade chips.

"Sacks of potatoes were relatively cheap, so I had a very restrictive diet, so when I married in 1981 at 22, I was a slight seven stone," she said.

But after giving birth to two daughters, Nicki began eating more and exercising less.

An asthma diagnosis soon after her second daughter had been born also forced her to put her exercise regime on hold after she had returned to the gym to shed the pregnancy weight.

Although she had received warnings from her GP over diabetes, she carried on with little concern for her health.

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But after returning home to an eye-opening reality check from her optician after a family holiday, Nicki became scared at the though of losing her sight.

"I was shocked into submission. I could have dealt with taking medication, but blindness is a different story and I was determined to avoid that scenario at all costs.

"I began attending the WeightWatchers Wellness workshop at Heath Hall, Bexleyheath in October 2015, hoping that, coupled with my love of walking, we could reverse the diabetes trend, avoiding the blindness that potentially came with it," she said.

After three steady years of learning to control her portions and some much-needed exercise, Nicki managed to overcome her diabetes and last year doctors told her all signs of the condition had disappeared.

"I got to my goal at the end of last year after losing seven stone and will never allow myself to get that way again.

"The way I look at everything has changed, it has been a complete change of mindset.

"I feel like I dodged a bullet," she said.