FOSTER FAMILY FACE LOSING THEIR HOME AFTER SIGNING UP TO GOVT HOMES SCHEME

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.

Other great stories
ADORABLE PENGUINS HATCH AT UK ZOO

HOPPING onto the scales, these adorable baby Humboldt penguins are ready for their first weigh-in .

STUNNING AURORA BOREALIS REFLECTED IN ICELAND

CONTRACT CANCELLED, DO NOT SYNDICATE .

BEAR AND FOX IN SHOWDOWN

This is the moment a nimble red fox and a lumbering Alaskan brown bear were locked in a tense stand-off .

FISH AND BIRD TANGO

A trout manages to escape the jaws of a hungry cormorant - only to find itself back inside the bird's long beak .

PRISON HOTEL

FOR most people, spending a night locked up in a cell would be undesirable .

BRIT DESIGNER PUTS INK-REDIBLE PEN ON MARKET FOR £27K

A British jewellery designer with a passion for London's iconic Gherkin has created a pen with an INK-REDIBLE price tag of £27,500 .

FIRST FEMALE JACKASS

FROM KISSING an alligator on the nose to walking over broken glass, this fearless daredevil is a real life female JACKASS .

BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPHS BROUGHT TO LIFE

BREATHING life back into old photographs, these black and white images are transformed by colour .

DOTING SEAL TICKLES HER PUP

A doting seal smiles at her sweet little pup as she tickles its tummy on the beach .

SMALLEST HOUSE IN THE UK

WELCOME to the pretty 122-inch-tall red dwelling that lays claim to the title of the UK's smallest house .

KINGFISHERS DIVE FOR THEIR DINNER

THESE kingfishers prove no rod is needed as they go fishing for their dinner .

STUNNING CONTRAST OF ENGLISH SETTINGS

CONTRASTING settings reveal some of England’s most beautiful landscapes in all their glory .