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FILE PICTURE Claire Tickle pictured in October 2014. Claire Tickle from Eastleigh in Hampshire who suffers from the medical condition lipoedema over the course of a year she has lost 8 stone to help with the condition. A super-slimmer who shed a remarkable eight stone has hardly dropped a dress size – because her legs weigh TEN STONE. See swns story SWLEGS. Claire Tickle’s top half went from size 20 to a curvy size 16 as she slimmed down from 28 stone over the last 18 months – but her legs are still oversized. Despite overhauling her entire diet, the 39-year-old mum-of-one still tips the scales at almost 20 stone because a rare condition means her legs are constantly being filled with fat. Learning support assistant Claire was diagnosed with lipoedema, also known as ‘painful fat syndrome’, which involves the excess deposit and expansion of fat cells in her legs – meaning they have grown to the size of tree trunks. She said: “While I’m thrilled to be slimmer I still have the weight of an adult woman on my legs. “It’s bittersweet, as people still stare at my legs all the time. “There is nothing I can do to stop my legs getting bigger – I’m scared I will be stuck with them forever.”