A former soldier who bravely took on penny-pinching NHS bosses in his fight against terminal cancer has died, aged 37. Mark Bannister's wife has revealed how her husband was forced to LIE to doctors in order to get the life-prolonging treatment he had been denied due to a cruel postcode lottery. But after wasting six months of precious time trying to obtain the drug Avastin, Mark's cancer was too advanced for the medicine to have any effect. The dad-of-two succumbed to the brain tumour he had been battling for nine years at around 6am on Monday morning, with his wife Karen, 33, at his side. In tribute to her husband, who served in Northern Ireland and Bosnia during nine years in the army, grieving Karen said: "The Avastin didn't have any effect but we had to fight for six months in order to get it. "In all that time his tumour had been growing. In the end, he had to claim that he was living at another address in order to get the treatment. Who knows what would have happened if he had got the drug sooner - I truly believe it would have helped him.
ROLLING up snow in its tiny paws, this little squirrel is looking for a snowball fight .
Complete with core, mantle and crust, these incredible planet cakes are truly out of this world .
This Robin Reliant appears to have taken a wrong turn after it ended up 15 feet high up in a TREE .
A man has lost an incredible 20st after his addiction to food left him £15k in debt .
A mother-to be has told how she cannot go near an iPad in case she suffers another miscarriage due to her intense sensitivity to electromagnetic waves .
SITTING on a burning sofa unable to move, one man turns his terrifying dreams into reality .
A Hereford woman has lost 10st 3lbs after ditching her £260-a-month takeaway habit .
With one hand rested on his belly and the other propping his head up, this lazy lizard takes an afternoon break .
A weightlifter has lost a whopping 12st after swapping biscuits for biceps .
A photographer has captured stunning photographs of the Milky Way above picturesque landscapes in the UK and Italy .
WEARING tiny Christmas accessories, these adorable babies get into the spirit of the season .