A family of foster carers are facing bankruptcy and homelessness after they signed up to a Government scheme to renovate their house to be used for disabled children's short breaks. Two years ago the Waite family received a grant from Leicestershire County Council to transform their home into a respite centre for severely disabled foster children. But after a dispute arose with the builder over the £75,000 extension to their three bedroom house in Leicestershire, Mark Waite, 44, and his wife Clair, 39, now face losing everything they have worked for. The couple, who represent the third generation in a 100-year family tradition of fostering disabled children, have had to sell all their furniture and clothes on ebay to pay solicitor's fees and say they now face total ruin. They say the council has "left them out in the cold" over the legal wrangle, leaving them responsible for tens of thousands of pounds of debt which will almost certainly result in them ending up on the streets with their two children.
PAWS for thought as you feast your eyes on this rare bear bathing session .
A puppy bit off more than he could chew when he stole a six inch Chinese spare rib from his owner and swallowed it WHOLE, Cheeky Staffordshire bull terrier Rossi had his life SPARED when he underwent a life-saving operation to remove the bone from his stomach after swiping part of the takeaway meal .
HIDDEN in the middle of the Mojave Desert, a secret oasis awaits intrepid travellers .
AT first glance these images could easily be mistaken for photographs, but they are in-fact real life drawings created using nothing but coloured pencils .
HUDDLED together in the hollow of a tree, it would be easy to overlook these two sleepy owls as they blend into the trunk .
Leaping out of the ocean, a group of gentoo penguins fly through the air before landing safely on an iceberg .
THIS RING of fire in the sky is the annular solar eclipse that wowed our cousins down-under .
Exploding out of the water, a great white shark performs a backflip during a hunt for seals .
SAT with his arms folded and a cross look on his face, this Gorilla looks like he's had enough of the Christmas holidays already .
A BLIND man was battered with a brick in a sickening attack by two thugs .
A COUNCIL has come under fire for slapping fines on people’s GRAVESTONES for breaching petty regulations on pot plants .
This is the moment a nimble red fox and a lumbering Alaskan brown bear were locked in a tense stand-off .