A Keighley teenager who is fed through a tube into her heart has returned home after an operation in London.

Amy Knowles recently endured two months of hospital treatment following complications with her regular feeding routine.

The 17-year-old contracted septicaemia twice and had to receive emergency treatment at local hospitals.

She then went to the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London for surgery to adapt the feeding mechanism.

Before her latest ordeal, Amy had spent most of the past year at Great Ormond Street receiving treatment for her condition.

She suffers from a rare and complex disorder that means the nerves and muscles in her stomach do not work.

Her body cannot digest food, so she must be fed with liquid nutrients for 12 hours a day through a tube directly into her heart.

The tube mechanism, installed earlier this year, meant Amy could live back at home and do normal activities such as shopping and going out with her friends.

But there is always the danger of septicaemia – blood poisoning – each time her family change the bags full of liquid food.

Amy’s mother Helen said the recent septicaemia attacks caused severe reactions in her daughter. Helen said: “It was the most frightening experience. We could have quite easily lost Amy.”

Amy will have to return to Great Ormond Street Hospital later this summer for more work on the feeding mechanism.

She recently embarked on a fundraising campaign to raise money for research at the hospital into her condition.

Anyone willing to support the campaign should contact Helen on 07988 548475.