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.
Scurrying along the branch of a tree, a little squirrel pushes a pram packed full of Easter treats .
STOOD side by side next to a busy road, these buildings were once bustling with life .
FULL OF STUNNING colours and swirling shapes, the furrows on these fields create a mix of mesmerising patterns .
Some will get up close and personal with Mother Nature’s deadliest animals to get the perfect shot, posing the question, what lengths will a photographer go to for that all important picture? But in this case, the question should be what depths .
MOUTH OPEN wide, this little stoat appears to be in mid-song as he belts out a tune for his onlookers .
An Italian photographer travelled to the highlands of New Guinea where he met an Indonesian tribe untouched by the modern world .
Lying angelically with a range of expressions etched on their tiny faces, little bundles of joy are innocently captured in their first few days in these adorable photographs .
This is the moment a nimble red fox and a lumbering Alaskan brown bear were locked in a tense stand-off .
SITTING in the middle of a vast desert, an abandoned cinema is still waiting for its first movie to be screened .
A KITTEN'S teaparty and rat's playing dominoes are the bizarre creations by one of Britain's great eccentrics pictured in an incredible new book .
WITH A STERN look of determination on their faces, these adorable pooches perfect their doggy paddle as they dive head first into a swimming pool .
