Size zero model is banned from London Fashion Week

Charlotte Carter, who is a US size zero, has been advised to gain weight if she wants to work.

Campaigners said it was the first sign of hope that the industry is changing after last year's major row over ultra-skinny models.

The Evening Standard has learnt that Miss Carter, 22, has been told to put on at least a stone slowly and warned to think about her health.

She has modelled for top fashion designers throughout Europe while a size zero, the equivalent of a British size four with a 32 inch bust and 22-inch waist.

But the agency Models 1 said she is too thin for London catwalks as they gear up for London Fashion Week, which starts on Saturday.

Miss Carter, originally from Zimbabwe and now living in Kensington, has battled with eating problems since she was a teenager.

But this is the first time she has been advised by a European agency to think about her weight.

She is speaking out because she feels agencies in London are paying more attention to underweight girls. She did not tell Models 1 about her previous eating problems.

She said: "From the inside it feels like London agencies are cracking down on this super-skinny idea and therefore the rest of the world is somehow listening.

"The industry has always put pressure on me to be thin, but I brought my own issues along too. I can't blame modelling, although it has not helped.

"But when Models 1 advised me to gain weight it was like a psychological wall coming down. It helped me finally to realise that I was too thin. I was impressed that an agency was actually addressing my wellbeing."

Miss Carter, who is 5ft 10in, is now more than a stone lighter than when the above picture was taken but has asked that current photos of her are not used.

Experts say that up to four in 10 models may have an eating disorder.

A spokeswoman for Beat, the eating disorders association, said: "It is fantastic that such a large agency is taking such a responsible attitude. This is a sign of hope."

A major report, the Model Health Inquiry, will be published this Friday. It will not follow Madrid and Milan in banning size zero models. But the panel is likely to issue guidelines and demand that models are checked for eating disorders. They have banned girls under 16 on the catwalk and are likely to call for medical certificates, better nutrition advice and a model union.

Protesters still want an outright ban on women with a body mass index of below 18. They say it would help prevent tragedies such as the deaths last year of three South American models.

London Assembly member Dee Doocey, a Lib Dem, said: "It is a toothless report that I fear will not help anyone." Alice Gibson, head of new faces at Models 1 , said the agency has always taken a responsible attitude. But the size zero row has changed things slightly, she said. "If someone is borderline too skinny we are going to think twice about it."

Jameela Jamil, who scouted Miss Carter, said it was not until she removed her jumper that she realised how skinny she was. She said: "Instead of encouraging her size, Models 1 assured her it did not enhance her beauty and they wanted her curvier and healthier. I was elated."

Supermodel Erin O'Connor, who sat on the inquiry panel, said in an interview: "I was shocked when a few other models and I were singled out for criticism. The public humiliation of seeing my health analysed by complete strangers ... was bearable. The questioning of my integrity was less so."