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.
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 frilled lizard appears to be belting out a tune as it sits in a tree with its mouth open wide .
VENTURING into the ocean with self-made spears and nets, the fishermen of Zanzibar put their lives on the line when they catch food for their families .
MAKING himself at home, this little snail perches happily on top of this frog's head .
A pair of chicks bravely decided to befriend a python, despite being the snake's favourite choice of food .
CLINGING onto nothing but ice, this brave climber reaches heights of 1000 FEET as he scales frozen solid waterfalls .
A BRITISH couple are the first to tie the knot inside an enormous GLACIER in Iceland .
What lies beneath this building site? Britain's great hope of winning the pre-WW2 arms race against Nazi Germany .
These are the faces of orphans suffering from the horrifying effects of chemical warfare .
Staring death in the face, a little field mouse bravely confronts a hungry cat .
Beautiful turquoise waves rise and fall in a series of stunning images taken along the coastline of south-eastern Australia .