BRAVEHEART: BABY GIRL SURVIVES HEART SWELLING TO SIZE OF ORANGE

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

Other great stories
STAR-TI-LING: 40,000 STARLINGS MIMIC HITCHCOCK'S THE BIRDS

STAR-TI-LING: 40,000 STARLINGS MIMIC HITCHCOCK'S THE BIRDS- This could be the fearsome scene from Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds as a flock of 40,000 starlings bask in the heat of a wonderful British sunset .

KILLED BY MAKE-UP - TRAGIC 18th CENTURY CELEB'S MIRROR AUCTIONED

She was the 18th century celebrity who made men faint in awe of her beauty by her very presence .

OUT-STANDING FIREFIGHTER BREAKS ENDURANCE WORLD RECORD

A US firefighter has battled osteoarthritis and four hip replacements to break the world paddleboarding record .

KUNG-FU LEOPARD CUBS

Pouncing down on top of his twin brother, these two snow leopard cubs practice their kung-fu moves .

FOUND NEMO

A curious clownfish peaks through the tentacles of a sea anemone .

DANCER REFUSES BIRTHMARK REMOVAL TO KEEP HER INDIVIDUALITY

A professional dancer has embraced her individuality after refusing plastic surgery to remove a giant birthmark on her face .

BRIT DESIGNER PUTS INK-REDIBLE PEN ON MARKET FOR £27K

A British jewellery designer with a passion for London's iconic Gherkin has created a pen with an INK-REDIBLE price tag of £27,500 .

FISH AND BIRD TANGO

A trout manages to escape the jaws of a hungry cormorant - only to find itself back inside the bird's long beak .

FISHERMEN IN MYANMAR BALANCE ON ONE LEG

Fishermen in Myanmar have perfected an unusual fishing technique by carefully balancing on one leg .

EXERCISING OTTERS

A group of otters put on a show of aqua aerobics, as they raise their flippers perfectly in sync .

PET DOG WITH CANCER LEFT TO DIE

CCTV shows a dark figure dumping the dog- A pet dog suffering with cancer has been put down after being dumped at an animal rescue in what officials said is the worst abandonment of any animal they have witnessed .

MAKING A SPLASH - GORILLA GOES APE IN WATER

While often referred to as the kings of the jungle, gorillas - for all their might - are notorious hydrophobes .