A YOUNG Bolton woman who defied the odds after being born with a fatal liver condition has died.

Emma Jayne Nelson, aged 20, was not expected to live beyond her second birthday but throughout her life she amazed doctors with her determination to live.

She was born with biliary atresia, a condition which is almost always fatal within the first few years and resulted in the death of toddler Ben Hardwick, who won the hearts of the nation in 1984 when he became Britain's youngest liver transplant patient.

Emma, was diagnosed with the acute liver problem at one-month-old and underwent major surgery at the age of nine weeks. Although the operation at Manchester's Booth Hall Children's Hospital was declared a success, she later developed cirrhosis.

Emma, of Church Road, Bolton, underwent two liver transplants in her teens, the first at the age of 14, but her body rejected them both.

She was assessed for a third operation in June but doctors decided her heart and lungs were already under too much strain. After developing an infection, Emma died in the Royal Bolton Hospital last week from kidney failure.

More than 200 people turned up to her funeral at St Helens Road Methodist Church.

Her mother Sue, father Steve, aged 48, and 14-year-old brother James paid a moving tribute to Emma's love of life and courage.

Despite living under a death sentence, she was determined to lead as normal a life as possible and the keen animal lover even managed to hold down a job at Pets At Home in Middlebrook.

Her mum, aged 44, said: "Every day with her was special. She was an absolute joy and we feel very privileged to have had her for as long as we did.

"We knew time was not on our side but we had her for 18 years beyond what the doctors told us.

"Emma was in and out of hospital her whole life but she never spoke about her illness.

"When she was born, we decided to treat her as a normal child for as long as we had her.

"It was hard but she was very determined and never let her illness get her down.

"Emma could have fallen ill at any time and we lived moment to moment.

"We were overwhelmed by the number of people who turned up at the funeral, the cards and flowers and would like to thank everyone for their support."