A FORMER glamour model has won a £100,000 payout from Barnsley Hospital after a mastectomy left her broke, single and disabled.

Diane Chambers, 48, appeared on one of Athena’s iconic raunchy posters.

But she was devastated when a tumour was found during routine preparations for a breast-lift operation.

An NHS consultant overestimated the size of the 15mm lump in her breast by almost six times and she was given a mastectomy without being offered a less-invasive lumpectomy which would have been sufficient.

Diane said the operation left her with a lopsided chest and her confidence plummeted, costing her her job as an administrator, partner and leaving her with £30,000 of debt.

A scathing report said medics failed to give her an MRI, didn’t assess the size of the tumour, and she could have been given a lumpectomy.

Mother-of-two Diane, now living in Derby, sued the Barnsley Hospital, which admitted ‘negligent failure to advise of alternative treatment’ and agreed to settle out of court.

She said: “The worst thing is the knock-on effects of it all. It was so needless.

“As far as my relationships go, I don’t think I’ll ever have another one.

“I’m nearly 50 and living with my parents.

“I had body parts cut off. I had other body parts cut off and sewn on in their place. I have scars, no feeling, and ugly odd-shaped body parts now. I have lost my relationship because of the stress and arguments that surround this.

“I just want to be able to sit in a room with the consultant who failed me and ask her why she did it. If she could explain why she did this to me, I might be able to forgive her. But I haven’t had any answers.”

The former pin-up had 38DD breasts and dreamed of going braless under her clothes.

Her then-partner Peter Reddish, 50, offered to pay for breast uplift surgery for her 43rd birthday privately, in 2012.

A routine scan prompted a biopsy and a consultant at Barnsley Hospital told her she had an 8cm tumour which would need a full mastectomy.

She broke the news to her daughters Ashlie, 22, and Hannah, 24, and her sister Julie, 49, flew over from America to spend a ‘last’ week together.

Diane had the operation to remove her breast in December 2012.

But just two weeks later, consultant Julia Dicks told her the lump was just 15mm and stage one - not stage three as had been previously thought.

Two years later, Diane underwent an invasive procedure, which involved stretching her skin with a balloon, to create a replacement breast. She was unable to work due to extreme pain in her arm and shoulder, leaving her permanently disabled.

“Every single item of clothing I had didn’t look right any more. A lot of my life has been involved with how I look. I wanted to have an uplift to look better, and I ended up looking dreadful. I’ve had a big tattoo done over the scar because I couldn’t bear to look at myself and I’ve been left with a ‘dog-ear’ of flesh.”

Three years after the operation, she split with her partner due to stress and money rows.

Diane, who is still taking Tamoxifen, even contemplated suicide and began drinking heavily.

Diane said: “The compensation will be just enough to pay off debts and to try and maintain one single part of my life that I’m hanging on to by a thread, my horse, Amber.

“This consultant is still working. She has ruined my life and she is still allowed to operate on other patients.

“I can’t work anymore, and it’s never going to be as it was.”

A spokesman for Barnsley Hospital said: “The settlement with Ms Chambers was agreed with her solicitors earlier this year. However, the trust does not think it appropriate to comment further on the specific facts or circumstances of this agreement.

“Steps have already been taken to reduce the risks of a similar occurrence in the future as we endeavour to learn from errors and to improve care. We would like to apologise to Ms Chambers.”