WHEN local cookery book writer Rose Elliot saw fellow vegetarians feeling left out of the Atkins diet she decided to take matters into her own hands.

Rose, pictured, realised vegetarians could not benefit from the quick weight-loss offered by the Atkins diet, which involves eating a lot of meat and cutting out carbohydrates, so the Vegetarian Society patron set about making her own diet plan.

Her latest book, The Vegetarian Low-Carb Diet, was published last week.

Rose, speaking from her Bishopstoke home, said: "An increasing number of people said they wanted to do a vegetarian diet like the Atkins.

"The book shows how you can get your metabolism working for you. In the first couple of weeks you can lose quite a lot of weight."

Rose was awarded an MBE for her services to vegetarian cookery in 1999.