Sarah Taylor, a mother of three from Eastbourne, has received the title of David Lloyd Leisure's (DLL) PT Hero of the Year 2011.

Taylor, 43, shed a total of 3st 4lbs over 15 months following an exercise and weight loss regime with the support of her personal trainer, Josh Warrell, at DLL's Eastbourne club.

With midlife approaching and her teenage children growing up, Sarah was stuck in a rut and unhappy with her weight - then 12 st 8lb - so she decided to join David Lloyd Leisure.

Josh devised a personalised gym routine and a healthy eating plan as part of the club's Lose and Shape Up programme.

After reaching her target weight of 10st 3lbs, Sarah began toning her body with a combination of gym sessions and group exercise classes, meeting many new friends in the process. She continued to lose weight, dropping two dress sizes to a size 10.

Sarah, who wins a year's David Lloyd Leisure membership, adds: "Josh is an excellent coach, and through all that I've learnt - to eat healthily and exercise correctly - I cannot see that I will ever slip backwards to where I was before. Every aspect of my life is better, and I can't thank Josh enough - what a team!"

Josh, a master trainer who was recently one of three winners in Escape Fitness's 'So you think you can PT' UK Personal Trainer of the Year competition and nominated Sarah, said: "Sarah is a joy to work with and was an easy choice for me to put forward; the results she achieves are outstanding and her ability to deal with change continue to surpass my expectations as she reaches new heights in her health and fitness."

David Lloyd Leisure's group health and fitness manager, Rob Beale, said: " We are delighted to announce Sarah as our PT Hero of the Year. She is a very worthy winner, having achieved tremendous results with the dedication and support of Josh. Our competition rewards and recognises the incredible progress that our members achieve and the excellent work that our personal trainers do."