A woman has spoken of her heartbreak after she was rejected by an adoption agency because of her pregnancy phobia. Kayleigh-Emma Shiel, 30, has always dreamed of becoming a mother, but suffers from tokophobia – a fear of childbirth. Her condition means that she is unable to conceive a child of her own as she is too terrified of pregnancy and the associated pain. Believing that adoption was her only chance of becoming a mother, Kayleigh and her fabricator husband Gary, 47, applied to adopt a child in January this year. But the couple, from Elland, West Yorkshire, were rejected partly due to Kayleigh’s unusual phobia.
HOTSPOT MEDIA - BACK TO THE FUTURE WITH AR' KID: A POSTAL SORTER has perfected the art of time travel by delivering images that are from the past .
BALANCING on top of a tree, this bear cub puts her climbing skills to the test .
Surveying its surroundings, a tiny harvest mouse climbs the stem of a dandelion .
ROLLING across a 65-metre-high viaduct in the Alps, the red carriages of the Bernina Express add a splash of colour to the spectacular snow-covered Swiss surroundings .
THIS incredible shimmer of silver fish mirrors the image of that of an underwater tornado .
A Romanian photographer has captured the unique patterns of hundreds of human eyes in a series of striking macro shots .
SEA LIFE and greenery in one shot show nature at its very best .
PERCHING on top of a gate, this young barn swallow waits patiently for his mum to return with dinner .
Raising his arms above his head and lying flat on his back, a polar bear stretches as he sprawls out across the ice .
SOARING through the air, a hungry white-tailed kite prepares to snatch a vole from his mother’s claws .
A photographer from the United Arab Emirates travelled to Pakistan where he captured the lives of local people in a series of expressive portraits .
With luminous colours and alien- like features, these magical mushrooms look like they belong on another planet .