WHEN Ron Sangster joined the gym to tone up and get in shape, the last thing he expected was romance.

But love soon blossomed when he met fitness instructor Gwen Bone, at the Regency Fitness Suite, Blackburn.

Ron joined the gym on Blackburn with Darwen Council's GP Referral Scheme, a specifically developed 10-week personal exercise programme designed for people who have become inactive due to medical problems.

He began his healthier lifestyle after he was taken to hospital with an enlarged heart with an irregular beat in January last year. He weighed over 19 stone and he smoked and drank too much, so his doctor issued him with a prescription for exercise.

He joined Regency in April last year and remembers he first saw Gwen in December.

He said: "We exchanged Christmas cards and I invited Gwen to my works dinner and dance. It has really taken me by surprise as I was not bothered about meeting anybody, then all of a sudden it was right under my nose."

Ron, 48, of Whinney Lane, Lammack, works as a technician for Central Power Services at Hollins Mill, Darwen.

He also goes to Gwen's 'Body Pump' class, a weight-lifting exercise set to music, which she has been teaching at the Regency since September last year.

Gwen, 44, of King's Bridge Close, Mill Hill, is Fitness Suite Manager and Body Pump instructor at Regency.

She said: "I've been teaching for about 15 years and nothing like this has ever happened to me before. I feel as if I've been hit by a sledge hammer!" Both Gwen and Ron are divorced and have children from previous marriages.

Gwen added: "We're taking it one step at a time at the moment, and we're just enjoying ourselves."

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