A baby girl has become the youngest British patient to receive a life-saving cardiac operation after her heart swelled to twice its normal size within days of her birth. Little Phoebe Whittle was just four weeks old when medics had to battle to save her life from a congenital defect which gave her tiny heart only a third of the oxygen it needed to work. Mum Charlotte 27, and husband Carl, 32, looked on in horror as she failed to breathe normally and turned blue within days of being born. Phoebe had been born with ALCAPA, Anomalous Left Coronary Artery from the Pulmonary Artery, that meant the artery to her heart muscle was connected incorrectly, starving it of oxygen.As a result, Phoebe's heart ballooned to twice its size - swelling from the size of a walnut to the size of an apple. But incredibly, the tiny tot - dubbed 'Braveheart' by her proud parents, made a stunning recovery following groundbreaking surgery at Alder Hey Children's Hospital
UNDERWATER and above-water seaside shots show the best of British beach-life .
The sun is finally out, bringing a smile to many people’s faces – including this cute little dormouse’s! Grinning from ear to ear, this tiny dormouse appears to have been tickled by something as it clambered up this flower, basking in the sunshine, whilst having a little laugh to himself .
DASHING through the snow, this little stoat is on the lookout for a Christmas feast .
A man who spent 30 minutes impaled on iron railings after attempting to scale an 8ft fence has told of his agonising ordeal - and how he suffered a similar mishap as a child .
With no luck at the front of the bus, the deer runs around the center seats trying to escape through the window – THIS is the astonishing moment a DEER crashed through the front windshield of a bus before it went hysterically running around the vehicle .
CAUSING a splash, this determined kingfisher goes hunting for dinner .
A kingfisher’s bright blue and orange feathers glisten in the sunlight as the bird dives into a lake .
A lazy tree frog, tired of hopping along a branch, chooses the slowest form of transport when it jumps on top of an unsuspecting snail .
An Italian photographer travelled to Chile where he visited several star-gazing sites, home to some of the world's most advanced telescopes, located in the spectacular setting of the Atacama desert .
THESE kingfishers prove no rod is needed as they go fishing for their dinner .
With blue waves tumbling over them, these surfers glide underneath a tunnel of water .
BOXING DAY has come early for this pair of feisty squirrels, as their Christmas party quickly turns sour .