NICOLA Coates is continuing to gain in strength and fitness, almost three months after undergoing her bone marrow transplant.

And her hair is starting to grow back after falling out because of chemotherapy treatment prior to the operation.

But it's coming back much darker than ever before for the 25-year-old from Wheldrake, near York, who had quite fair hair as a teenager.

Nicola, who received a transplant from an anonymous stranger in America earlier this year after developing leukaemia last year, is continuing to make once or twice weekly visits to hospital in Leeds for check-ups and needs the occasional blood transfusion.

Her father Gary said: "She needs very careful monitoring, and we expect that for the rest of this year, but she is progressing quite well and it's settling down.

"Her white cell count is quite good and her immunity appears to be all right, though she should still avoid crowded pubs and the like.

"She's been to the cinema but tries to go at quiet times when it's not packed."

He said she was quite strong, although she hadn't got back all her original strength, for example when walking.

He said she was not yet able to drive again, and this was a cause of frustration, and she found one of the biggest problems was occupying her time.