Mum spent £12,000 of taxpayers’ money to send obese daughter, 13, to fat camp after her weight ballooned to 13 stone
Beverley Deakin paid for her daughter to go to a £6k fat camp TWICE after years of trying to help her shed weight
A MUM spent £12,000 of taxpayer's money sending her obese daughter to fat camp after her weight ballooned to 13-stone.
Beverley Deakin, of Rotherham, was horrified when she disovered her 13-year-old daughter Destiny's weight equalled her age.
After years trying to help her obese daughter shed the extra pounds, she finally resorted to spending £6k on a fat camp - TWICE.
Destiny, now 15, lost a total of 2st attending the six-week weight loss programme over two summers.
Rotherham City Council agreed to pay for the expensive course to help Destiny lose weight in 2013, and again in 2014 after she piled the pounds back on.
The schoolgirl is now finally a healthy weight for her 5'7 frame after dropping to a size 12 at 11st.
Beverley, who works at an antiques dealership, says: "I know £12,000 is a lot of money but I don't feel guilty for wanting to make my daughter's future happier and healthier.
"I'd tried everything in my power to help Destiny lose the weight so camp was our last choice."
The 41-year-old says she did not notice her daughter's expanding waistline until she was unable to get into a size 14 shirt the summer before she was due to start secondary school.
Beverley vowed to help her daughter shed the stones by cooking healthy dinners, but says she would find food packets hidden around the house.
She said: "Although I was trying to encourage Destiny to eat better, one day, while she was at school, I discovered crisps packets shoved down the side of the couch and realised that she had been secretly scoffing snacks.
"I've struggled with my weight all my life, going from a dress size 8 to a size 18, as my weight fluctuated dramatically.
"When I realised my daughter was reliving my nightmare - it broke my heart."
In 2009 Destiny began comfort eating after her granddad died, to the point a doctor told her she was clincally obese.
Beverley worked three jobs to make ends meet and Destiny was looked after by her nan Joyce, 68, in the evenings.
Her mum said: "While I made hearty meals with plenty of vegetables like cottage pie, my mum preferred meals laden with grease, like home-cooked chips fried in oil.
"I asked mum to cook healthier dishes but she never listened.
"While Destiny was in her second year of secondary school, she became withdrawn and hated going out with her friends.
"She admitted that she had low self-esteem due to her weight so I took her to the doctors, who confirmed that Destiny was clinically obese.
"She weighed 12st 6lbs at the age of 13. We were distraught."
Destiny's doctor referred her to the Rotherham Institute of Obesity, who provided diet advice and free access to a gym.
Despite regularly exercising and cutting back on fatty foods the young teen's weight did not budge.
Doctors then suggested the 12-week course for overweight children at Rotherham Leisure Centre, which still did not help.
Eventually Destiny was told to contact MoreLife, a weight loss camp overweight kids in Leeds.
It teaches children how to cook healthy meals, portion sizes and re-evaluate their relationship with food over six weeks during the summer holiday.
Beverley, who is also mum to Macaulay, 20, says: "The camp cost £6,000 but, thankfully, Rotherham City Council agreed to provide funding for Destiny.
"I was relieved as I could never afford that cost myself as a single mum and I knew it was the kick-start that my daughter needed to lose weight.
Destiny lost 13lbs after attending the weight-loss camp in 2013 - but piled it back on again over the next year.
The Government then funded another six-week course in 2014, when she lost a stone.
Beverley insists the camp taught her daughter invaluable life skills and defends the hefty cost to taxpayers.
She said: Destiny has even taught me things she's learnt from camp, such as portion sizes.
"We now eat off smaller plates and I even lost 1st 7lbs in six weeks.
"It took £12,000 to change Destiny's life but I don't feel guilty for wanting to make my daughter's future happier and healthier.
"You simply can't put a price on happiness.
"Noone has made any negative comments about the cost to the council but I honestly believe that, unless you've walked in our shoes, you shouldn't judge."
Destiny said: "Camp was hard at times, but I had so much fun and my friends were really supportive.
"When I'm 18 I hope to return back to camp as a volunteer to help overweight teenagers - after all, I'm proof that it really works!
"Now I'm so much more confident than ever before."
