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.
Jostling their quills into the noses of some unlucky cubs, this is the moment two feisty porcupines ALMOST defeat a pride of seven lions .
As sunlight cascades through its vibrant stained glass windows, every inch of the Nasir-ol-Mulk Mosque bursts with colour .
IN THE not so MISTY MOUNTAINS of Wiltshire, there lies an abandoned hobbit house .
This brave Hyena finally catches his pray among the thousands of flamingos, Lake Nakuru, Kenya - OUTNUMBERED among thousands of flamingos, this bold hyena is not put off from hunting for a morning snack .
A tiny puppy who lost his front legs after being hit by a train has been given and new LEASH of life with a set of wheels .
RESTING his weary head on his flipper, this little seal pup takes a much needed nap after an afternoon of strenuous yoga .
BURSTING from the water, a beautiful but deadly Sumatran tiger jumps for food in an Indonesian zoo .
Dogs catch waves at the Coronado Bay dog surf championships Saturday 22nd June 2013- DOG SURFING mutts have never looked so gnarly .
TUGGING at his exhausted mum's ears, a beautiful baby orangutan refuses to settle for a nap as he begins a game of peek-a-boo .
SOARING through the air, a hungry white-tailed kite prepares to snatch a vole from his mother’s claws .
At least three people have been killed and more than 100 injured, some seriously, in two explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon .