Extra-large coffin of Vauxhall helicopter crash victim Matthew Wood inspires sister Amanda Wood from Carshalton to shed eight stone

Amanda Wood, 35, had a "lightbulb moment" at the funeral of "big friendly giant" Matthew Wood, 39, who died in fireball as he walked to work when a helicopter struck a crane and plummeted 7,000ft in Vauxhall. 

Pilot Peter Barnes was also killed and 12 people were injured in the January 2013 crash, which happened in poor visibility.

Mr Wood, of Brunswick Road, was laid to rest in February 2013.

Supermarket worker Miss Wood, of Welbeck Road, Carshalton, said she decided to take weight loss more seriously after comparing her brother's "extra big" coffin with that of their father, who died of leukaemia a year earlier.

Mr Wood weighed more than 25 stone when he died, according to his sister

Miss Wood, who works in Asda in Sutton, said: "“It was a bit of a lightbulb moment, seeing his extra big coffin and comparing it to my father’s the year before."

“Because he was obese we found we had to pay more money for a bigger coffin, when I had thought it didn’t work like that and that one size fits all.

“After that, it made me realise that I didn’t want to be in the same position if I were to die in that way, or a similar way, because I want to be put in a normal-sized coffin."

Miss Wood weighed 22 stone before she turned to Weight Watchers to reach her goal of 18 stone. She has since shed four more stone.

Miss Wood went to the gym and water aerobics classes occasionally before her brother’s death

In the days after her brother’s death Miss Wood told the Sutton Guardian Mr Wood had been a “big guy with a big heart”.

She said: “He was a big friendly giant. He was a big guy with a big heart.

"His godson was his world. Matthew’s got no children but he’s got lots of godchildren.

"When we were younger we used to clash like any brother or sister but losing our dad last year – it draws you together.

"I was looking forward to him taking me down the aisle when I eventually get married."

Miss Wood heard of the helicopter crash on the news before she found out her brother had been killed.

She worriedly attempted to call him, knowing his route to work, but his phone was switched off.

Pete Barnes, 50, died when his helicopter hit the ground after hitting the crane at The Tower in St George Wharf, Vauxhall.

Twelve other people on the ground were injured.

A 2015 inquest heard the pilot, aged 50, had not deliberately breached air clearance rules but had lost awareness when he clipped the crane.

Mr Barnes, who was contending with poor visibility and freezing fog, had been flying from Redhill Aerodrome in Surrey to Elstree in Hertfordshire but was diverted to Battersea heliport.