A seven-year-old girl is back at school after recovering from treatment to cure a rare blood disorder.

Ella Elderfield returned to Halfway Houses Primary after spending the last eight months recuperating at home.

She used to suffer from Glanzmann’s thrombasthenia - a medical condition that prevents blood from clotting and can cause a small cut to haemorrhage for days.

She has had two emergency transfusions in her lifetime.

In July, Ella underwent a bone marrow transplant. Her older brother Jack, nine, was the donor.

She also had to go through chemotherapy to kill off her nonfunctional blood cells so that new healthy ones could grow, which caused her hair to fall out.

But now her father Ross says she is now getting back to normal.

He said: “She’s a lot stronger and her hair is growing back now.

“She is really pleased to be back seeing her friends. All the tests she has had so far have been positive, everything is on course and she is starting to come off some of the medications she has been on.”

Ella was taught at home by a teacher until she went back to school two weeks ago.

There was a double celebration as Jack found out this week he has won a Buddy Award from the Haemophilia Society in recognition for him donating bone marrow.

It means he and his sister have been invited for a ceremony at London Zoo next month where they will also get special behind the scenes treatment and get to see some of the animals up close.

Mr Elderfield said: “He’s really chuffed with that. It is still something I want to support going forward.

“There are other kids in a similar position and there will be people there on the day that we can advise and let them know that there is always a bit of light at the end of the tunnel.”

The 34-year-old, who coaches under-10s at Sheerness East FC, has held fundraisers for the Haemophilia Society in the past and hopes to organise a charity football tournament later this year.