LENNOX Nicholson, the North-East baby whose liver transplant grabbed national headlines, is back in hospital.

While doctors are pleased with how his transplanted liver is performing, there is a new concern over weight loss.

Lennox, who is now seven months old, has had difficulty in keeping down his food.

When his parents, Simon Nicholson, 21, and Amy Robinson, 20, told consultants Lennox was continuously vomiting and had lost weight, the medics decided to re-admit him.

A family friend said doctors at St James' University Hospital, in Leeds, would concentrate on helping Lennox to keep his food down and gain weight.

"What has complicated matters is that Lennox has a virus, which means his nose is constantly running. As he is still being fed through a nasal tube, this is not helping him," the family friend said.

Lennox was allowed back to his parents' Guisborough home on January 3, three weeks after a life-saving liver transplant.

He had been given just days to live before the transplant.

Specialists at Jimmy's were amazed at how quickly he recovered from the long and complex operation.

The doctors now want to ensure he can get over what his family hope will be just a temporary hitch.

Lennox was born in Middlesbrough's James Cook University Hospital on June 21.

Within weeks, he showed signs of severe jaundice and acute liver problems.

Specialists diagnosed a life-threatening condition called biliary atresia and Lennox was transferred to the St James' University Hospital, where the transplant was carried out on December 13 by three teams of surgeons.

One team worked on the anonymous donor, another worked on Lennox, while a third team prepared an unnamed woman patient who received half of the donated liver.

Within a few days of the operation, his parents were told that Lennox was doing well and was over the worst.