MOST students taking a gap year before going to university choose to work, travel the world or gain experience with voluntary organisations.

But Richard Lumb, from Darlington, has spent the past few months getting used to greatly improved eyesight.

Last November, Richard underwent a successful corneal graft at Darlington Memorial Hospital - a century after the first successful transplant of its kind.

Since then, he has been recuperating at home, preparing for university and catching up with some reading.

He said: "My sight has improved quite a little bit. I have just been getting used to seeing again.

"It is just about adapting and trying to focus on small items. My range is there but it is now about focusing."

The teenager has been partially-sighted since he was two, because of a birth abnormality.

Since he was nine, he has been able to see very little because of a problem with his cornea - the transparent film in front of the eye covering the lens and iris - which did not filter light properly.

Richard had been wanting the operation since he was 15, but waited until he finished his A-level exams at Durham Gilesgate Sixth Form Centre last year.

Before the operation, he was able to see very little and used Braille or magnification and could only make out shapes and outlines.

He said: "Everything is now a lot clearer, I can see a lot further and I can see people's faces."

Richard, who has turned 19 since the operation, has also been able to read a lot more. Before the operation, it affected his posture, because he had to hold the book close to his face.

He is planning to start at Roehampton University, London, to study classical civilisation in September, after a short holiday at a rock concert in Germany in August.

His operation was conducted by eye surgeon Richard Stirling in November.

The first operation of its kind was performed in 1905 by Eduard Zirm, in the Czech Republic.

The operation involves sewing the donor's cornea in with fine stitches.