An East Yorkshire teenager battling leukaemia has thanked the hundreds of strangers who signed up to donate bone marrow after hearing her story.

Emily Pierce, 18, of Skidby, faces a race against time to find a bone marrow donor to provide the lifesaving transplant she desperately needs to beat the cancer.

Yesterday, East Yorkshire residents flocked to a special session in Cottingham, after a desperate appeal from Emily's family to find a potentially lifesaving match.

The Anthony Nolan Trust had to ship in extra staff during the evening to deal with the number of people who turned up to Cottingham Parks Golf and Leisure Club, where Emily works as a receptionist.

Speaking from her bed in Castle Hill Hospital, Emily said: "I'd like to thank everyone for their support, not just friends and family, but I've had cards and messages from complete strangers, which is really touching.

"I cannot believe how many people who don't even know me have responded and want to sign up to the register."

Bishop Burton student Emily had recently qualified as a gym instructor and had a black belt in karate.

She was diagnosed with lymphoblastic leukaemia in September after experiencing chest pain she mistook for a pulled muscle.

Yesterday, as people queued along the corridor to sign up to the bone marrow register, Emily's mum Joanne was visibly moved.

She told the Mail: "I have just had to go into another room to have a little cry.

"You can understand people coming along if they know Emily, but many of the people here have just read about her in the paper or seen the posters. It is really, really overwhelming. Thank you to all of them."

Everyone who signed the register gave a saliva sample, which will now be sent to a laboratory to test their tissue type.

If a patient is found to be a match, the donor may be called into hospital for the transplant procedure almost immediately, or wait years while a match is found.