A BUS driver from Wallyford has transformed his life with running after he and his wife shed an incredible 23 stone between them.

David Lawson, 45, who suffers from depression, decided to put his best foot forward to get fitter after being inspired by his wife Jacqueline, who was also losing weight.

He is now an avid runner, jogging four mornings a week with running buddy Jennifer Meikle, also from Wallyford, before going to work with Lothian Buses.

He also joins the Jogscotland group at Meadowmill once a week for a run round the Prestonpans area.

David, weighs in at 19 stone, having previously tipped the scales at more than 30, and has helped raise hundreds of pounds for charity with sponsored runs and climbs.

Jacqueline, 46, dropped from a size 34 to 14/16 after losing 12 stone in 18 months, taking to the catwalk in aid of the Bethany Christian Trust, which assists Edinburgh’s homeless, last year. Before she lost the weight, she walked with two sticks for nearly three years due to arthritis in her knees.

She too has been instrumental in raising thousands of pounds for Wallyford Children’s Gala and Wallyford Playgroup, holding sponsored walks, dress-down days at work and hundreds of raffles.

David, of Fa’side Avenue North, said: “Jacqueline is my rock.

“She was losing weight and I decided to do the same because of my depression and having no energy for my son when he wanted to play football. I was getting out of breath.

“I was more than 30 stone and was eating rubbish. I thought if I didn’t do something the depression was going to take over.”

He said he also followed a healthier diet regime, including chicken, pasta and salads, as well as drinking a litre-and-a-half of water and pint of milk each day.

David’s fundraising started in 2013 when he raised cash for a friend’s daughter who has a chromosome disorder by braving the Loony Dook on New Year’s Day at South Queensferry.

The year after that, he took part in the Great Winter Run, scaling Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh to raise funds to send one of Jacqueline’s friends who was suffering from terminal cancer to Mexico for treatment.

Since then, he has done a sponsored abseil for the Bethany Trust and, along with colleagues from Lothian Buses, tackled Ben Nevis twice in aid of Cancer Research and CCLASP (Children with Cancer & Leukaemia Advice and Support for Parents).

David, who has scaled 25 Munros and completed two half marathons, is preparing to take part in the Simplyhealth Great Edinburgh Run on April 25.

Also on the cards this year are three half marathons – the Edinburgh Marathon Festival, Great North Run at Newcastle and Bank of Scotland Great Scottish Run in Glasgow. His ambition is to take on the London Marathon.