A diabetic of 30 years says he no longer needs medication after just six months on a groundbreaking programme.

Peter Maher, of Ennerdale Bridge, cut down on carbohydrates and lost four-and-a-half stone since March. Now he does not take any medication at all.

The 69-year-old former clerk of Lamplugh Parish Council and secretary of Ennerdale Hub Ltd was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes when he was 38.

Just earlier this year, he was taking seven different types of tablets and two types of insulin to control his condition - enough medication to fill a shopping bag each month.

He said: "I was depending on my medication so heavily and injecting three to four times a day. It was becoming painful because the injections points were becoming swollen and hard."

When he saw research on the news from Professor Roy Taylor of Newcastle University, which claimed major weight loss could return insulin secretion to normal, he got in touch.

In just six months of dieting and support from Newcastle University, Peter said he slowly weaned himself off the medication entirely.

Peter will star as a case study in ITV's Tonight programme this week which will reveal the latest findings from Professor Taylor.

A spokesman for Newcastle University said the number of diabetes cases is escalating across the country, as the nation’s obesity problem continues to grow, and the care bill is said to cost the NHS £10bn a year - almost 10 per cent of its entire budget.

He added: "Our work has shown that type 2 diabetes is not inevitably progressive and life-long. It has been possible to work out the basic mechanisms which lead to type 2 diabetes.

"Too much fat within liver and pancreas prevents normal insulin action and prevents normal insulin secretion. Both defects are reversible by substantial weight loss."

Peter said it is important to seek medical advice, both locally and from Professor Taylor, before trying a new diet and cutting down on medication.

Public Health England statistics show that one in eight people in Cumbria are at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes in their lifetime.

An estimated 51,428 people over the age of 16 in the county are at risk of developing the condition, which is linked to obesity and unhealthy lifestyles.

Its figures calculate the number of people with high blood sugar levels, known as non-diabetic hyperglycaemia, which could lead to type 2.

The prevalence rate of 12.3 per cent puts Cumbria within the worst 25 local authorities in England for the proportion of people at risk of the condition.

Tonight will be broadcast on tonight (Thursday) on ITV1 at 7.30pm.