THE prezzie can only be described as absolutely nuts - but it brought a huge smile to a West Fife shopkeeper's face and helped cheer her on in her fight against cancer.

Janice McLennan (58) was heartbroken when she and husband Jimmy were forced to give up the village newsagents and post office in Limekilns' Main Street in October after eight years, due to a massive drop in sales.

Things then took a turn for the worse, as just five days after the shop's closure, Janice found out she had cervical cancer.

Happily she's now fighting her way back to health, and was given a boost of sunshine on Saturday when a coconut arrived in the mail, all the way from Florida!

Janice laughed, "It was a very big surprise! It was not even wrapped up or in a box and I'm surprised it got through customs.

"It was just a smooth coconut with the address stuck on and it's got a smiley face, 'Best Scones' and 'Get Well Soon' on it.

"It's from Ashley Swanson, he lives in Miami Beach but his mum stays down in Halketts Hall and she must have told him that I was not well.

"He was home just about the end of last year and used to come down to the shop every morning to get scones at the back of seven!

"I've not seen his mum but I'll tell her about it. It made my day." Janice and Jimmy continue to run the Charlestown Post Office and Sutlery, and she is now on the mend after completing six weeks of chemotherapy and radiotherapy at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh.

She told the Press, "I was diagnosed with cervical cancer the week after we closed the shop.

"We closed on the Saturday and I found out on the Wednesday. I was devastated. I hadn't been well but I had put it down to stress, having to give up the shop.

"I had lost three stone in a few months, was really off food and had pains in my tummy all the time.

"I went to the doctor, they did some tests and sent me to the Victoria Hospital, and they told me I had cancer.

"I just completed my treatment four weeks ago and I see the consultant in another month and they'll tell me if it's been successful or not, but I'm starting to get back to myself again." And if laughter is the best medicine, the coconut has certainly helped.

Janice smiled, "It's been a good laugh. I've got it on the counter and everybody's been wondering what it was!"