IT WAS his family's embarrassment as Bob Marchant was poked fun at in London that prompted him to do something about his weight.

The six-footer from Bell Busk scaled in at 25 stone, and a group of men in a pub had called out, as he crossed a street: "Who ate all the pies."

Bed and breakfast owner Bob, was with his family going to see his favourite football team, Hull City, play Sheffield United in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley last summer.

"I just laughed and waved when they shouted but I realised by family were embarrassed about what had happened.

"I'd also seen a photograph of me at my son's graduation in America and said to myself: 'This just can't go on'," said Bob of Tudor House hotel.

So when he learned about the BBC Horizon experiment looking into why people become overweight, he applied and was one of 75 people selected to take part in "The Right Diet for You", which went out over three nights.

At the conclusion, Bob was surprised to discover he had lost more weight than any of the other people involved.

He said: "It was not a competition. We were recruited to take part in the experiment to see how different people have different eating tendencies which can lead to weight gain.

"So when at the end they made this announcement - that I'd lost the most weight - it was a big surprise. There was no prize, I just acquired a set of state -of-the-art scales which we were all supplied with," said the 57-year-old.

When Bob was selected to take part, he was categorised as a "feaster". He had a hormonal imbalance which meant he never knew when he was full.

By the end of the 12 week experiment - it ran from June to September - his weight had plunged to 19.5 stone. Overall, the total stones lost by everyone came to 100.

His success boiled down to changing his diet by banishing carbohydrates, like potatoes and bread, and concentrating on high-protein, low-fat foods and focusing more on eating things like pulses, bulgur wheat and basmati rice which helped him cut down on the amount he ate in a day.

But he is still not finished. His ambition is to get down to 15 stone.