Kaitlin pictured aged nine - Heart pounding, Kaitlin Womack stared in shock at a Facebook post on her phone. In that moment, a horrifying memory from her childhood came flooding back. It was 2016, and her former neighbour, Kert Birtwistle, 29, had been convicted of child sexual offences. Seeing his face on her screen knocked Kaitlin, 25, for six. Because what nobody knew was that she’d been harbouring an awful secret since the age of nine. Birtwistle had subjected Kaitlin to three sickening sexual assaults while she played at his house as a child, including touching her privates under her swimming costume. Three years later, in 2019, Kaitlin, from Preston, reported Birtwistle to the police. When she did, six other victims also bravely came forward. In October 2024, Birtwistle, from Blackpool, was convicted of 14 charges, including rape and sexual assault. He was jailed for 12 years at Preston Crown Court. His brother, Jordan Wright, 28, also pleaded guilty to 18 sexual offences and was jailed for over 16 years. Now, Kaitlin is courageously waiving her right to anonymity to help encourage other survivors to report their abusers to the police.
JUDGE BLASTED FOR LETTING PAEDO WALK FREE A PERVERT who sexually assaulted two young girls on an allotment, telling them he was brushing spiders off them, has walked free from court – because jailing him was ‘unfair’ on his family .
IN a galaxy not so far away lies a magical display of lights that could be the latest image from NASA .
A DETERMINED great blue heron holds on tightly to its prey as the furry gopher attempts to wriggle free .
Exploding out of the water, a great white shark performs a backflip during a hunt for seals .
BEAUTIFULLY lit by the dim glow of lanterns, a cave in Iceland is transformed into the perfect wedding venue .
THEIR gnarling teeth at the ready, these two baboons fight it out for the last piece of fruit .
In the calm waters of Greenland, gigantic icebergs dwarf everything around them .
An adorable little squirrel wakes from a nap and pops out his tongue for the camera .
WELCOME to the drawing room that is home to the £100K world’s greatest collection of Margaret Thatcher autographed objects .
A BIKINI swim with jellyfish sounds like the most painful past-time on the planet .
A terrified moose, trapped in a frozen lake, bobs her head above the icey water and awaits her rescue .