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.
TRYING their best to wriggle away, three adorable tiger cubs receive their health checks at Chester Zoo .
A trout manages to escape the jaws of a hungry cormorant - only to find itself back inside the bird's long beak .
SHOWING off her best assets for the camera, this cheeky orangutan is in the mood for love, puckering up her lips to blow the biggest kiss she can .
An adorable orangutan named Pongo celebrates his first birthday at Zoo Atlanta, Georgia, America .
NEW DELHI, A woman activist of India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party crosses a police barricade near the residence of ruling Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi during a protest against the recent rape of a five-year-old girl in New Delhi, India, April 21, 2013 .
These are the faces of orphans suffering from the horrifying effects of chemical warfare .
FLOATING effortlessly on his back, this little otter laps up a rare glimmer of English spring sunshine .
Sitting all alone on drift ice in the Arctic Ocean, this lonely little fella looks lost .
It's incredible to think anyone could live in such horrendous squalor - yet two men have been prosecuted for keeping their homes in such revolting conditions that it was no longer fit for their animals .
FROM A mini table and chairs to a detailed violin, it’s hard to believe these incredible sculptures are all carved into the nib of PENCILS .
This may look like a monster car engine that will leave petrol heads in a spin, but it is in fact a rather snazzy looking COFFEE MACHINE .
GLAMPING is taken to a whole new level in the form of the luxurious Pop-Up Hotel .