A mother told she had terminal cancer by doctors who ignored her pleas for help 13 times has made a miracle recovery following the UK's first operation of its kind. Ruth McDonagh was repeatedly turned away by medics over the course of two years despite suffering from the classic symptoms of bowel cancer. By the time it was diagnosed, she was told she had just 18 months left to live as a huge tumour in her bowel had grown so large it was almost inoperable. Her only option was a £100,000 operation only available in the US which was certain to leave her paralysed from the waist down. But at the eleventh hour a team of UK doctors trained in the American technique agreed to carry out Ruth's surgery in a 13-hour operation never before carried out in this country.
A pair of adorable polar bear cubs play-fight with each other in the Alaskan snow .
If you had to scrape the snow off your car this morning or slip-slide your way into work over icy pavements spare a thought for these little critters .
WITH A STERN look of determination on their faces, these adorable pooches perfect their doggy paddle as they dive head first into a swimming pool .
A lazy tree frog, tired of hopping along a branch, chooses the slowest form of transport when it jumps on top of an unsuspecting snail .
From the rolling hills of the Brecon Beacons to the still waters in the Lake District, these photographs capture autumnal landscapes across Great Britain perfectly .
With blue waves tumbling over them, these surfers glide underneath a tunnel of water .
PERCHING on top of a gate, this young barn swallow waits patiently for his mum to return with dinner .
PUSHING the diver out of his way, this little sea turtle shows he’s not in the mood for photographs .
SITTING in the middle of a vast desert, an abandoned cinema is still waiting for its first movie to be screened .
WITH their robotic movements and pristine uniforms, these are the sexy traffic girls of North Korea that are becoming iconic figures in the secretive state .
Struggling home entertainment chain Blockbuster has been slammed for advertising its workers' jobs while they are still in them in order to scare them into working harder .