AN 11-YEAR-OLD girl who has spent her life fighting cancer is looking forward to more time with her family after being allowed home for the first time in seven months.

Vicky Barker, of Hartlepool, has spent the past seven months in Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary being treated for a rare form of cancer.

She had her left thigh removed after she was diagnosed with rare blood disorder Diamond Blackfan Anaemia.

Vicky was first diagnosed with the condition aged 15 months, and has undergone daily blood transfusions for ten years. Her femur has been removed and replaced by a prosthetic one.

The Newcastle United fan was helped through her stint in hospital by some of the team's players and staff, including Peter Beardsley and goalkeeper Shay Given, who visited.

She said: "I am doing really well, the operation was alright but a bit sore.

"The metal in my leg is cold, though. I still have to have chemotherapy until April, but I feel fine. It was great meeting Peter Beardsley and Shay Given. I would love to meet Alan Shearer, he's my favourite player."

Vicky returned home for Christmas Day with her mother and father, Tracey Cairns and Stephen Barker, and brothers Steven, 14, and Leslie, 12, but had to return to hospital overnight.

Ms Cairns said that Leslie was so upset at the parting, he vowed to save money towards a family holiday.

Vicky, who attends Springwell Primary School, is one of only about two dozen people in the country with the illness.

Despite this, she regularly plays sport, and is the only girl in one of her school's rugby teams.