FIVE-year-old leukaemia sufferer Elizabeth Morris has been hit by a setback in her brave battle for survival.

Treatment for a life saving bone marrow transplant which was due to begin on New Year's Day has been postponed.

"We're very disappointed," said her crestfallen father Jeremy at his Hollow Meadow home in Ringley, Radcliffe.

"The Royal Manchester Children's Hospital phoned the day after Boxing Day to tell us there was a delay with the donor side of things."

The family enjoyed Christmas together at home, but had psyched themselves up for New Year's Day when Elizabeth's intensive radiotherapy and chemotherapy was due to begin, prior to the transplant.

"It's been a difficult year and this is a real blow. Everything's up in the air," said Mr Morris. "Fortunately Elizabeth is feeling okay in herself."

She was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in 1997 at just 17 months old.

Chemotherapy put the toddler into remission and ongoing treatment kept her illness at bay until just after Christmas 2000 when she suffered a relapse.

Doctors said a bone marrow transplant was the only chance of long-term survival.

Sadly, tests on Elizabeth's younger sister, Rachel, revealed she wasn't a match and so doctors turned to the country's main marrow donor register, run by the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust.

In September Elizabeth was thrown a lifeline when a compatible donor was found, but then came this week's disappointing news.