Two years on, and Leslie's illness is still taking its toll

The 46-year old actress nearly died two years ago after contracting a hospital superbug.

Her return to health has been painstakingly slow but last year she appeared to have reached a milestone when she was able to dispense with her walking stick.

On a shopping trip in London, she seemed to be relying on it again as she walked back to her car.

Miss Ash caught the hospital superbug MSSA, a variant of MRSA, while she was being treated for injuries sustained during an 'energetic' lovemaking session with her husband Lee Chapman.

She was admitted to the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London with a cracked rib and punctured lung in April 2004. Chapman, 44, was later arrested on suspicion of assault but was never charged.

The actress, best known for her role in BBC1 comedy Men Behaving Badly, believes she contracted the superbug from a pain-relieving injection she was given in hospital.

A large abscess then formed which put pressure on her spinal cord and paralysed her.

Her condition became so grave that her sons Joe, 16, and Max, 13, were warned she might not survive.

She eventually recovered but was confined to a wheelchair before facing the gruelling challenge of learning to walk again.

She progressed to crutches until she improved sufficiently to get by with a walking stick.

She is suing the hospital for negligence, with reports claiming she could be awarded as much as a million pounds in damages. The claim is ongoing and her lawyers are trying to agree a deal with the hospital.

An onlooker said: "She looked as though she was having difficulty walking. She wasn't using the stick all the time but she did lean on it every so often.

"She was taking her time and taking very small steps. Getting in and out of the car seemed to cause her problems. She went to two shops and her husband just waited for her in the car".