THE parents of transplant baby Lennox Nicholson have celebrated his first birthday - a day they thought they would never see.

Simon, 21, and Amy, 20, were all smiles this week as they marked the milestone of their son, who was only days from death at Christmas.

Lennox desperately needed a liver transplant and had only two weeks for a donor to be found.

The news that a donor was available came as Lennox, from Guisborough, east Cleveland, clung to life in a specialist unit at St James University Hospital, in Leeds.

The operation went well and Lennox has since battled infections and complications.

But he was showing a broad smile as he celebrated his first birthday.

His mother said: "We did not think he would make it to 'one', so it is a big achievement for him.

"The surgeons told us if it had been two days later, he would never have made it through the transplant operation.

"He has had a lot of setbacks and things he was not able to fight off himself, but he has had a couple of problems in the last few weeks and he has been able to fight them off himself.

"He has smiled all the way through it, even when there were days when he was very, very poorly. Things are really looking up now."

His father said: "This first year has been tough, but we hope the next year will be better."

The family said Lennox was still being taken to the Leeds hospital every three weeks for tests.

His mother said: "He has had a lot of money sent to him for his birthday. We have had lots of cards and people stop us everywhere we go because they recognise Lennox.