A MOTHER-and-baby fitness class has started live online classes to help women keep in shape during the coronavirus lockdown.

Former dental nurse Donna Hopkins bought the Sweaty Mama franchise in Blackburn and Darwen so that she could enjoy fitness while being around her children.

She said: “It’s been a stressful time these last couple of weeks, when I made the decision to stop all face-to-face classes before we were instructed to do so by the government.

“I had to make sure we all stayed safe and that meant that classes in the community had to stop.

“Being a mummy can be lonely at times anyway, so the fact we are continuing our classes online daily and doing them live means we can all still be connected.

“We have a little chat before class and after, just like we would normally.”

People are still allowed to have one form of outdoor exercise a day but new mums can find this hard to do, so are potentially stuck indoors for even longer.

Mrs Hopkins said: “Exercise is a great stress relief, helping you feel happy and can also help beat postnatal depression.

“It’s fantastic to welcome my mamas into my living room and see my crazy home life.

“All my three children are home of course, and my husband is also working from home.

“We are beating coronavirus-boredom, keeping ourselves sane and the kids love working out and bonding with their mamas at home.”

There are six classes to tune into, including child-free bootcamp classes. Mrs Hopkins says the response has been overwhelming.

She added: “I’m getting lots of messages to say the sessions are really making days much easier and they’re so excited to tune in and say hi but also feel a real sense of connection and stress-relief.”

Classes are £6 a week for unlimited workouts, which are available to do after the live class finishes too. Visit the Facebook page Sweaty Mama Blackburn with Darwen.