A Hampshire woman who lost more than half her body weight today spoke of her pride at becoming a teacher as she was crowned slimmer of the year.

Harriet Jenkins, 25, shed 15st and dropped from a dress size 30 to 10, to be named Slimming World's Woman of the Year 2010.

As previously reported in the Daily Echo Harriet, who at her heaviest tipped the scales at 26st 7.5lbs lost the pounds over 18 months through healthy eating and exercise.

She said: ''My life's completely different now and I've achieved things I thought I never would, like getting my dream job as a teacher.

''But it's not just because I look different and weigh less, it's also because I'm more confident and finally happy with who I am.

''I'm so proud of myself for taking control of my life."

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Harriet, from Southampton, was overweight from childhood, but put on the pounds after her dad John was diagnosed with a fatal liver disease in July 2002.

She said: ''I would sit by his hospital bed with a big bar of chocolate and then go home and eat some more. I was in the middle of my A-Levels and I didn't cope well, I turned to food rather than dealing with my emotions.''

When her father died in Spring 2003, her comfort eating continued and by the age of 18 she weighed more than 18st.

She went to Nottingham University to study French, but kept herself to herself.

''It wasn't your typical 18-year-old's experience of university. I'd watch TV in my room with a takeaway and a bottle of wine.''

By the time she finished her studies in 2008, Harriet was a size 30 and struggled to find smart clothes to fit for job interviews.

She settled for a job in a call centre, where boredom and depression saw her eating endless sweets and chocolate at her desk.

It was a friend who set her on the weight loss path by inviting her to a Slimming World group, where she discovered she was 6st more than she thought after years of avoiding the scales.

Harriet has since completed her teacher training and started a teaching job with her own class of nine and ten-year-olds.

Once she started to lose weight she began to exercise, taking short walks at first, before joining a gym and now she runs regularly.

Last month she ran the Great South Run in her dad's memory for child bereavement charity Simon Says.

Harriet, who now weighs a svelte 11st 7.5lb for her 5ft 8ins frame said: ''The best thing about losing weight has probably been discovering who I am - and finding that I really like myself."