OVERWEIGHT people can now exercise without embarrassment thanks to a new business launched by a self-confessed larger lady.

Mother-of-three Susan Beaumont, 34, will begin dance classes for the overweight and obese next month, after years of struggling with her own weight.

The line dancing, Latin fusion and children's dancing sessions, will be held at Revidge Fold United Reformed Church, Blackburn.

But Susan, a qualified dance teacher from Burnley, is hoping to set up classes there too.

She is also hoping to expand her classes, under the brand name Biggerfun, to include more extreme activities like dry-slope skiing, ice skating and go-karting.

Susan, a drugs and alcohol support worker, said she got the idea when she was looking to lose weight, but also wanted to feel comfortable in an exercise class.

She said: "I looked all over and I couldn't find anything that specifically catered for overweight people.

"There are so many barriers to participation for someone who is overweight, and it's not because people are lazy, it's because they are so often frightened or embarrassed about joining in."

Susan has been working with Blackburn with Darwen and East Lancashire primary care trusts to develop the course, as well as to register it on the "exercise on prescription" scheme from April, whereby GPs can prescribe the classes for overweight patients.

Susan set up Biggerfun with a £2,500 loan from Burnley's Local Enterprise Growth Initiative, and has already had a lot of interest about her group on the social networking site Facebook.

She said: "I'm overweight and there's nothing more encouraging than going to a class and finding we're all in the same boat.

"I used to be one of those people who didn't exercise much until two years ago when my dad started a line dancing class, and I went to make up the numbers.

"That was how it started and I got my qualifications.

"I'm really excited about setting this up. It could be great for lots of people."

From February 3, classes will be held every Saturday morning and Tuesday evening at the church.

To book, call Susan on 07975 816415, or visit the website below.