ONE of the major stumbling blocks to getting fit and staying healthy, if you are past the flush of youth, is confidence.

Sadly, in these days of celebrity worship, it's easy to think that if your body doesn't match to the images on our TV screens, you are an oddity.

But, thanks to a 64-year-old grandmother of nine from Bromsgrove that's all changing. Anyone signing up to Anita Hill's new fitness course need not be afraid of removing their top layers of clothing and revealing their shape.

For Anita, from Byland Close, Friarscroft, is conscious of the anguish and embarrassment this can cause.

She only qualified as a fitness instructor six years ago, when she was 58, after being made redundant from her job as an office administrator.

Anita filled the gap in her life by attending Pershore College of Horticulture before taking up keep-fit.

Her enthusiasm for attaining and maintaining a healthy lifestyle inspired her instructors to urge Anita to get qualified. Now she runs five successful classes in the town.

Her clients consist of all age groups from late teens to more mature ladies.

"They tell me the reason they come to my classes is that they do not feel intimidated by me," she said. "I share the same experiences and problems as they do. If they get it wrong, so do I at times and we all just laugh it off, after all how many muscles in the face do we work when laughing?"

Anita said she gets immense satisfaction from seeing her clients gain confidence in themselves and become more co-ordinated with the music as they progress through the course and get fitter.

"They start off at the back of the class and try to hide and gradually come nearer the front," joked Anita.

Her latest course runs from this month to July and covers tone and shape. The two-hour sessions are devoted to exercise and advice on nutrition.

The course runs at Edwin Court, Edwin Road, Charford, from 10am to noon. Contact her at the Multi Agency Resource Centre at Charford on 01527 874880

Anita has other classes at Avoncroft Arts Centre on Mondays and Wednesdays, St Peter's Community Hall, Rock Hill on Thursday and Wych bold First School on Tuesdays.

For more information call Anita on 01527 870474.