FORMER pub landlady Sheila Shaw has given up smoking and drinking since quitting the pub business seven years ago - and has been bitten by the fitness bug instead.

Sheila, of Beverley Road, Blacko, a landlady in Burnley and Pendle before retiring, now has more healthy habits.

Now she is urging more pensioners to catch on to keeping fit.

Sheila, 65, was landlady at the Big Window from 1971 to 1983, and retired as a landlady in 1995 after moving to Blacko and running the Rising Sun Inn with husband Trevor.

She has taken to working out at the Seedhill Gym, in Barrowford, and wants others to follow in her treadmill footsteps.

She said: "I was size 16 when I retired and now I am a size 12.

"It was something to do to take up my time and now I just love it. It does you so much good in the long run and everyone should try it.

"You shouldn't be embarrassed about going along to the gym even if you've never been before. There are all ages there."

Sheila started her fitness regime through the Fitness For Life scheme, which was run through her local GP surgery.

She was given an assessment and a routine for exercises.

And after 10 weeks with the scheme, she decided to take out her own membership.

"I enjoyed being a landlady, it was great at the time, but I like this new life too," she said.

Sue Slater, regional manager of Pendle Leisure, which runs Seedhil Gym, said: "We encourage quite a lot of ages and we can also encourage people on the Fitness for Life programme.

"We do exercise programmes for people and we have a friendly atmosphere here."