AN expectant mum suffered crippling contractions lasting a gruelling two months, due to complications from a rare condition. Debbie Mills, 24, fell pregnant despite having to cope with agonising nerve condition CRPS, for which she takes painkillers. But, as baby Owen grew inside her, doctors told her it would be too dangerous to him if she kept taking her medication. She came off the pain relief, but 28 weeks into the pregnancy she started having severe stomach pains, which were diagnosed as contractions – and they continued until Owen was born – at 37 weeks.
WITH the phosphorescent blobs and mesmerising patterns, these spectacular images may look like the hall marks of an enchanted forest but it is in fact the scene of thousands of dancing FIREFLIES .
A hungry hippo is seconds away from catching a bird in its gigantic jaws .
A middle-aged couple from Somerset have developed a rather unusual hobby to occupy their time: writing to killers on death row .
A woman has been left unable to smile after undergoing emergency surgery to remove infected lip fillers .
A makeup artist from the West Midlands magically transforms herself into famous cartoon characters using body paint .
A photographer has captured spellbinding images of stars swirling above the English countryside .
Playing, splashing and generally messing around, these polar bears show they certainly have a soft spot for the water, and not just each other .
GIANT garden sculptures don't beat about the bush .
SAILING peacefully across a river in the early morning light, a fisherman in China keeps a 1000 year old tradition alive .
A woman with an irrational fear of toilets goes POTTY on the loo and runs away when she flushes, terrified it will swallow her up .
A cheeky owl fancies a game of hide and seek as it peeps out from behind a tree .
Surveying its surroundings, a tiny harvest mouse climbs the stem of a dandelion .