While most Brits look forward to long hot summer days, a mum-of-six will be staying in the shade - as she is allergic to the sun. Laura Martindale, 26, suffers from a severe allergic reaction called Actinic Prurigo, which causes her skin to burn and break out in a rash when exposed to UVA and UVB light. At home, the full-time mum keeps the curtains and blinds closed during the day, and when she steps outside, she is forced to wear long sleeved tops and gloves, as well as high factor 50 suncream.
Animal rescue volunteers have told how a cat riddled with cancer was forced to ripped off its own ears after it was abandoned by its owners .
A SPECTACULAR array of stars fills the night sky as they soar over this active volcano .
THIS ONE of a kind experience brings a whole new meaning to the phrase 'a coffee to go' .
Playing, splashing and generally messing around, these polar bears show they certainly have a soft spot for the water, and not just each other .
A photographer from the United Arab Emirates travelled to Pakistan where he captured the lives of local people in a series of expressive portraits .
The claws come out at meal time as a group of white tailed eagles brawl over road-kill .
DASHING through the snow, this little stoat is on the lookout for a Christmas feast .
A grey whale and her calf greet an audience of awestruck admirers on the Pacific coast of Baja California Sur, Mexico .
BALANCING 30 metres above ground, these slackliners take the expression of living dangerously one step further, by tightrope walking NAKED .
FLEXING his muscles and staring straight at his opponent, this bodybuilding squirrel is the nuts .
A little clownfish opens its mouth to reveal a blood sucking intruder living on its tongue .
A disabled sheep is enjoying a new fleece of life after receiving a specially-designed wheelchair .