THE desire to drop a dress size before her wedding was just the motivation that Sarah Symonds needed to get her back into sport.

Sarah achieved her goal after taking to the Halo pool in Leominster.

But, after her honeymoon, she felt the urge to go back.

“It surprised me, too," said the 29-year-old.

"I used to hate sport at school and I am pretty shy now. But I’d loved the swimming and was offered the chance to try a combat class.

"I couldn’t believe the range of ages and fitness levels in there so I kept going back.

"The music, the lights, the inspiration you get from the instructor makes it like a night out with friends, and I’ve made so many new friends since going and lost another two stone and done a 5k mud run since.

"I know, me? Who’d have thought…”

Sarah's story shows just one way in which the award-winning This Girl Can campaign is working to drive down the gender gap in sport.

They are reaching out to all women who feel left behind by exercise or who think their ability, age, background, size or lifestyle is a barrier to access and Herefordshire's Halo Leisure is getting right behind it.

And Sarah's not the only one to feel the benefit.

Caroline Jones uses the toning suite at Hereford Leisure Centre three or four times every week.

“When I hit 50 I realised that if I didn’t get active now I wasn’t going to be active later," said Caroline, who is now 53.

"Niggly things started slowing me up and I didn’t want to get to the age when it was too late to do anything about it.”

The ‘gentle gym’ power-assisted suite works with the body and Caroline, who is a stone lighter and 23.5 inches slimmer, says she’s quicker and fitter than ever.

Roxksie Logan, 32, has become a bit of an inspiration at Halo’s Leominster Leisure Centre since embarking on a journey to stay mobile after a multiple sclerosis diagnosis last year.

“My motivation came from fury and frustration, but also facing up to the fact that I needed to lose weight and use this first year since the diagnosis to change my life,” she said.

“It’s helped massively with my mental wellbeing as well as physical health.

“I know there is nothing I can do to change the diagnosis and so you can get trapped in the mindset of your world falling apart.

"But I see exercise as a free shot of endorphins, a free shot of happiness. When you feel the benefits you don’t look back.”

For more information visit http://www.haloleisure.org.uk,. The centres are providing free seven-day passes for women who want to try out the facilities and see for themselves the difference they can make.

“It is the type of facilities and the range of support people find when women come through our doors that are helping us drive change and get more women active more often,” says Halo's partnership manager Alex Haines.