A little boy was left fighting for his life in hospital after a horrific allergic reaction to epilepsy medication made his skin fall off in chunks. Five-year-old Ellis Stacey developed a one-in-a-million condition that gripped his body, covering his skin in agonising blisters. Within days, the skin on his face, back, arms and legs had peeled off. His devastated parents, Kayleigh Drayton, 25, and aerospace technician Carl Stacey, 26, were warned that he could die within days as the condition ravaged his body.
A DETERMINED great blue heron holds on tightly to its prey as the furry gopher attempts to wriggle free .
Marina Afonina, now 51, from Northampton, met Ioan Budea in 2006 .
LYING back in the snow, these two polar bears share a cuddle as they call time out on playtime .
The UK's first hotline - and possibly the galaxy's - for people who have been targeted by aliens has opened to the public .
A diver looks like a minnow as she swims alongside a gigantic whale shark, the largest species of fish on the planet .
FISTS fly as two gorillas take each other on in a dramatic battle .
A once bustling gold rush town in Mono County, California now stands completed deserted .
ROLLING across a 65-metre-high viaduct in the Alps, the red carriages of the Bernina Express add a splash of colour to the spectacular snow-covered Swiss surroundings .
BURSTING from the water, a beautiful but deadly Sumatran tiger jumps for food in an Indonesian zoo .
BALANCING on top of a tree, this bear cub puts her climbing skills to the test .
SQUABBLING over the last piece of grain, these hungry squirrels are determined to stock up on as much food as possible .
Sitting all alone on drift ice in the Arctic Ocean, this lonely little fella looks lost .