Overweight Lorraine Gilling was one of Arsenal’s biggest fans – until she got stuck in the turnstiles at Old Trafford.
Two stewards had to haul her 20-stone frame through the narrow entrance in front of jeering rival supporters.
Lorraine, 47, who had gone to the Manchester stadium to watch the rugby Challenge Cup final, was so embarrassed she spent the first half crying in the toilets.
She then gave up her treasured season ticket at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium, worried she was taking up too much room.
But the shame of the incident two years ago spurred her into a life-changing diet that has now seen her lose HALF her bodyweight.
Bookmaker Lorraine has lost ten stone by swapping Chinese take-outs for fruit and yoghurt.
She said: “I didn’t think I was going to be able to get through the turnstile.
“I turned sideways on but I just got stuck and two stewards had to pull my arms and I had to get a push from behind.
“I was absolutely devastated and I was so embarrassed. It was in front of all these teenage boys from the rugby team and their dads.”
She added: “I gave up my Arsenal season ticket after 14 years because I didn’t want to be seen out and about.
“There were times that I wouldn’t go out for a walk because I was scared that if I fell over I wouldn’t be able to get back up.
“For the Challenge Cup final I spent the first half an hour crying in the ladies toilets.
“When I was sitting on the seats at the football I was conscious that I was overhanging and sitting on somebody’s lap.”
Divorced Lorraine, from Rainham, Kent, piled on weight as a child and ballooned when she comfort ate as a teenager.
She peaked at 21 stone in her late 20s and needed a walking stick to follow her team around Europe.
But in the last two years she has shrunk from a size 34 dress to a trim size 12,
She was named Kent Woman of the Year 2013 and is now taking part in a national competition to be Slimming World’s slimmer of the year.
She has also started going back to see her beloved Arsenal – and is on the waiting list to become a season ticket holder once again.
