Freddie Cougar has won his battle to keep his job as mascot at Cougar Park.

The furry super Cougar emerged from his six-week Freddie gets Fit campaign having shed an impressive three and half stone (around 24 kilogrammes) – helped by Keighley News readers choosing his diet each week through its website keighley news.co.uk.

His six-pack look was revealed to the fans at Sunday’s Northern Rail Cup tie against Hunslet Hawks at Cougar Park, where he showed off his new, sleek body shape.

Freddie was confident when he took the scales on Sunday to see if he had hit the target weight set by Cougars’ Head Coach Barry Eaton.

And when it was announced that Eaton was happy with the re-shaped Cougar, Freddie punched the air and got on with leading the crowd’s encouragement of the Cougar team.

The Keighley players captured the mood too because they raced to the top of the Northern Rail Cup qualification Pool A with a confident 44-6 win over the Hawks.

Eaton said: “Freddie’s done well, I can’t deny that. He’s really got himself in shape and I’m sure that’s he’s going to do a great job for the club.

“I set him a tough target and, fair play, he showed just the kind of grit and determination we expect from people at an ambitious Rugby League club”.

Freddie said: “I feel great and look far better too. I’m going to maintain my exercise regime and watch more carefully what I eat.

“I want all my young fans to follow my example. Taking regular exercise and eating the right kind of foods is so important and it’s great that so many people in the Keighley and Rugby League community have been able to help me reach my goal – staying as the Cougar mascot.”

In fact Eaton thinks that Freddie has done so well that he’s given the super Cougar a squad number. He’s now officially number ‘0’. “Freddie’s such an important member of the community down here at Cougar Park that we wanted him as part of our squad,” said Eaton.

“But now that he’s in the squad we’ll be keeping an eye on him and his fitness.”

Helen Carter, the Cougars general manager, said: “The Freddie Gets Fit campaign was important not just to us here at the club but to reach out to the younger members of the community with the healthy eating and anti-obesity messages.

“It was great fun to share with Freddie in his campaign but there was that serious side to the initiative too.

“From the Cougars’ perspective taking part in the campaign has enabled us to connect with so many people and organisations within the community which is so important to everybody connected with the club and rugby league in the town.”

Added Freddie: “I feel like a real cool cat with my squad number and I’m really looking forward to the rest of the 2009 season.”