A DISTRICT nurse has turned her life around after having a heart operation which gave her the motivation to lose five stone in a year.

Katie Brown, of Mirfield Close, Lowton, had a procedure to correct an irregular heartbeat in January 2015 when her heart was beating three times faster than normal.

Although not directly linked to her heart condition, Katie vowed to reduce her weight of 17 stone to help with her recovery.

She managed to get her weight down to 12 stone between July 2016 and July 2017 and has been awarded Slimmer of the Year for that period at her Lowton club.

Former Lowton High School pupil Katie, 25, said: "Losing the weight has changed my life forever and I feel amazing now.

"I needed to do something about it after my operation to make sure I did not put my heart at risk from further problems.

"I did not like how I looked as well."

Katie has also defended her profession after criticism in some quarters of the media which questioned whether obesity levels for nurses is too high.

Her friend Rebecca Hall, who is also a district nurse, won Slimmer of the Year at her club in Warrington.

Katie also reserved praise for Slimming World in helping her to lose the weight.

Katie added: "I had tried quite a few diets before joining the club but this one has really worked for me and I am still able to eat food I enjoy like chips and chocolate.

"I am going to make sure I never go back to 17 stone."

Katie, who has not had any health problems since her operation, is 10 weeks pregnant with her first baby.