BRITAIN'S MOST INSPIRING CALENDAR GIRLS

Forget One Direction and Cheryl Cole, a new calendar is celebrating Britain's real heroes - the nation's most inspiring mums. Rather than showcasing skimpy outfits or the latest celebrity crushes, the Women of Strength 2014 calendar celebrates inspirational mums from across the UK. These are women who have overcome illness, domestic violence and disabilities to raise their children. The calendar has been created by single mum Dawn Cousins, 39, and all proceeds will go to Mothers 2 Mothers, an international charity helping to prevent paediatric AIDS in Africa. The mum of four from Harrow, London, said she was inspired to create the calendar to empower mums.

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PORTRAITS IN PAKISTAN

A photographer from the United Arab Emirates travelled to Pakistan where he captured the lives of local people in a series of expressive portraits .

REAL FRANKENSTEIN'S LAB

WELCOME to the real Frankenstein's lab where carefully pickled creatures are left to stew in jars .

WOMAN NEARLY DIED AFTER PNEUMONIA TURNED INTO SEPSIS – HER LUNGS COLLAPSED AND HER LIPS TURNED BLUE

A woman has revealed how she almost died after she developed sepsis from a cold .

DAUGHTER’S MIRACLE SURVIVAL AFTER POTATO PAN BURNT 36% OF HER BODY - DOCS WARNED SHE WOULDN’T MAKE IT

In June 2023, Aimee da Cunha, 33, from Perth, Australia, was boiling potatoes on the stove when her two-year-old daughter, Hailey, knocked the pan of water over her .

BROTHER SEXUALLY ABUSED ME AGED 6 AND TOLD ME HE'D GET CANCER IF I DIDN'T LET HIM

Sophie Carr, 23, from Swindon, was just six when her older brother Alex, then 12, abused her during a game of mummies and daddies .

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 .

MOTHER'S FEAR AFTER SUICIDE DAUGHTER’S STALKER RELEASED

A mother is living in fear after the stalker she holds responsible for her daughter's death is back on the streets, after serving just one year in prison .

CARE HOME STAFF ALLOWED BOY TO DIE BECAUSE OF HEALTH AND SAFETY FEARS

The family of a disabled boy who died in a tragic accident at a care home have received a four figure payout after an inquest heard carers allowed him to fall rather than restrain him because of "health and safety" fears .

£34m TAX FRAUD RACKET JAILED

A man who conned tax officials out of £34 million and funded a lavish lifestyle of luxury hotels and restaurants has been jailed for one of the longest sentences in British criminal fraud history .

POLAR BEAR STRETCHES

Raising his arms above his head and lying flat on his back, a polar bear stretches as he sprawls out across the ice .

ADORABLE OWLS SHELTER FROM THE RAIN

HUDDLING under a leaf, a pair of adorable Javan scops owls take shelter from the rain .

DIGIT-AL ART: HANDY COLLECTION UNVEILED

Here's a collection of art for the DIGIT-AL age as these fascinating illusions of landmarks, places and even a banana are made using just a pair of hands .