A pensioner who battled back to fitness after overcoming two life-threatening illnesses has won an award for her determination.

Anne Oliver, 78, of Shipley, suffered a heart attack four years ago and a blood clot in her leg last year, but a rigorous exercise programme has seen her bounce back on each occasion.

Mrs Oliver is now the latest winner of a Bradford Council’s b active award.

Her fitness regime started when she was referred to the Bradford Encouraging Exercise in People (BEEP) scheme by her doctor, and now she walks regularly, carries out resistance work in the gym, spends hours on the treadmill, step and cross trainer, as well as swimming lengths of the pool.

The BEEP scheme is for inactive people, often with heart problems, high blood pressure, diabetes or those who are overweight.

Mrs Oliver said: “When I was recovering from the heart attack I was determined to become fitter than ever before and decided to embark on a keep fit programme which has helped me incredibly.

“I got support from the Bradford Heart Support Group and started swimming and soon got up to doing two hours in the pool and managing 40 lengths a session.

“I’ve also managed to increase the time I spend in the gym and I now do an hour every session in Images gym at Bingley Pool.

“The exercise has helped me lose weight and I’ve never felt fitter with my doctor giving me a clean bill of health, so it just shows age and illness are not a barrier.”

The Council’s executive member for environment and culture, Councillor Anne Hawkesworth, said: “Anne is a great example to everyone that no matter what your age or state of health, regular exercise can make a big difference to your well being.

“She is a worthy winner of our b active campaign and epitomises everything it stands for encouraging people of all ages and abilities to take more exercise. Hopefully Anne’s story will inspire many more residents in the district to either increase the amount of exercise they take or for others to start and be active, get fit and have fun.”

The b active campaign was launched in 2003 and has seen 11 million residents enjoying workouts at Council-owned gyms and swims in pools across the district.

For more information visit the website: bradford.gov.uk/bactive.