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.
A US firefighter has battled osteoarthritis and four hip replacements to break the world paddleboarding record .
A mischievous fox cub demonstrates his playful side by biting his sibling’s tail .
EAGERLY BITING his nails, this little squirrel is clearly nervous of looming predators as he searches for his meal .
STRETCHING his little legs in the air, a smiley leaf-tailed gecko breaks free from his old, scaly skin .
WITH THEIR adorable big round eyes and fluffy white fur, these baby seals are cute enough to melt any heart .
Beautiful turquoise waves rise and fall in a series of stunning images taken along the coastline of south-eastern Australia .
MOUTH OPEN wide, this little stoat appears to be in mid-song as he belts out a tune for his onlookers .
GLIDING through the water, these delightful frogs show off their vibrant colours as they practice their FROG crawl .
NEW DELHI, A woman activist of India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party crosses a police barricade near the residence of ruling Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi during a protest against the recent rape of a five-year-old girl in New Delhi, India, April 21, 2013 .
With their guts spewing and eyes hanging out, these are the cuddly toys children might be reluctant to curl up to .
HUNDREDS of hot air balloons decorate the sky above Turkey as the rising sun illuminates the spectacular scenery below .
An Italian photographer travelled to northern India where he visited poverty stricken suburbs and captured ordinary people in a series of intimate and expressive portraits .