Amy gets a leg up

As Amy Zahra walked out of the airport's Arrivals unaided and pushing her wheelchair, her relatives and friends focused their attention on her legs.

Wearing a dress and open-toed sandals, Ms Zahra was happy to show off her new silicone artificial limbs, which she had just got fitted at Dorset Orthopaedic, in the UK.

Her prosthetic limbs look so real - complete with toenails that she can paint, veins in all the right places and a small arch - that she could fool anyone they were her own.

"I got carried away in the UK and bought more than six pairs of sandals," she said excitedly, in between hugging her boyfriend Mark Camilleri and relatives.

The heel can be no higher than one inch so she was going around shops, measuring her favourite pair and buying each one without any hesitation.

Laying her hands on these artificial limbs has been her ambition since the deadly meningococcal septicaemia robbed her of both her legs and her fingers, 18 months ago.

Since that day, the 22-year-old continues to defy doctor's predictions and move, step by step, towards normalcy - her long-term goal is to get silicone fingers, but so far she is managing just fine.

She was able to realise her ambition for silicone prosthesis thanks to all those who rallied to collect money, among them the Kilimanjaro Challenge 3.

While in the UK, Ms Zahra underwent physiotherapy to learn how use her new, lighter limbs, and how to perfect her walk.

Thanking all those who have helped and supported her throughout her ordeal, the young woman, who never stops smiling, finally sat down in the wheelchair, worn out from travelling and all the excitement.

"They look so life-like that when I look down I can't help feeling as if I'm walking with another person's legs," she said lifting her legs up to get a better view.