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.
BALANCING on top of a tree, this bear cub puts her climbing skills to the test .
DIVING boffins fired harpoons into 30-foot-long whale sharks in a bid to put the sea-beasts on Google Maps .
HUDDLING under a leaf, a pair of adorable Javan scops owls take shelter from the rain .
A photographer has travelled the length of the UK capturing lighthouses and their picturesque surroundings .
A mining town in Australia’s outback appears to be completely deserted, but its residents have escaped the scorching heat by living in underground caves .
A Little owl looks down the lens of a camera and gives the photographer a cheeky wink .
A kingfisher’s bright blue and orange feathers glisten in the sunlight as the bird dives into a lake .
THIS DANGER-mad female pensioner could be the oldest Brit to cage dive with CROCODILES .
A brave praying mantis makes an unusual friend in an Oriental garden lizard .