AS a youngster Paul Glass dreamed of a career as a top flight footballer and had even signed for Crystal Palace.

Little did he realise that years later when his football career was over he would tip the scales at 22st 3lb.

While running pub and hotel the Winston in Shirley, Southampton, Paul succumbed to a diet of burgers, chips and takeaways.

But the 35-year-old, who was also a competitive swimmer, turned to dieting when doctors diagnosed him with type two diabetes.

Today he has shed six stone – and has even returned to the football pitch.

It was his girlfriend Andrea Turnball, a nurse who has lost one-and-a-half stone with him, who gave him the encouragement he needed to join the Highfield Slimming World group run by Jo Macdonald.

He cut out all the fatty foods and even joined a gym where he now swims and plays tennis regularly.

He currently weighs in at 16st 1.5lb – having lost one stone in his first two weeks of joining the diet club 20 weeks ago.

Paul excelled at sport as a youngster representing Hampshire at swimming and becoming a biathlete.

But he chose to concentrate on football and played for Portsmouth Youth team as a centre half before signing schoolboy forms with Crystal Palace and playing there as a striker.

He became homesick and left London aged 17 to come back to Hampshire and though he played for Romsey and Winchester City his boots were packed away by the time he was 25.

He has recently started playing football again for local Sunday league team Whitenap.

Paul said: “Hearing I was diabetic was a shock. I realised if I didn’t change I was going to be really ill.

“It really has turned my life around. Now every day I don’t go to the gym I feel guilty, whereas before I couldn’t be bothered to do anything.

“I feel bright, I feel alert and I certainly don’t slob about anymore”

Paul used to consume thousands of calories a day on burgers and takeaways. He now typically eats a bowl of bran flakes with semiskimmed milk for breakfast, soup or jacket potato with beans for lunch and a pasta dish made with fresh vegetables or a chicken breast with vegetables for dinner.

And despite being surrounded by food all the time Paul says being a manager at a pub helps him lose weight.

He said he gives weight loss tips to members of staff and the chef often cooks him healthy meals. One punter even wants to go to the slimming group with him, he said.

Paul, who hopes to reach his target weight of 14st 7lb, said: “I’d say to anyone who wants to lose weight, it is just about getting started and getting the bit between your teeth. It is never too late to start. If you can get through the first couple of weeks of the habit change, it becomes second nature.”

And how does it feel pulling the boots back on to play for Whitenap FC in Romsey with his friends on Sunday mornings?

“I was feeling it at first but I’m enjoying it and scored on my third game back,” he said