BRITISH KINGFISHER SPLASH

BRITISH kingfishers love to cool off by creating a splash. During the sizzling summer days these kings of the river enjoy hunting for fish AND indulge in a dip at the same time. Stunning pictures show how the charismatic kingfisher dive bombs at speeds of up to 25-miles-per hour to catch their little fish prey. Pre-press operator Mark Bridger, 44, from West Malling in Kent took to the pictures while he was out rambling in the countryside. There are between 5,000 to 8,000 breeding pairs of kingfishers living in Britain at any one time. They live in the whole of the British Isles except west Ireland, the Outer Hebrides and the edge of northwest Scotland

Other great stories
A SMILEY GECKO SHEDS ITS SKIN AS HEATWAVE HITS BRITAIN

STRETCHING his little legs in the air, a smiley leaf-tailed gecko breaks free from his old, scaly skin .

KINGFISHERS DIVE FOR THEIR DINNER

THESE kingfishers prove no rod is needed as they go fishing for their dinner .

BASHFUL ORANGUTAN

A young orangutan comes over all shy as she hides her face behind a broken bucket .

BEAR CUBS AND DOTING MUM

A little brown bear cub shows his doting mum that she is always on parent duty as he uses her as a scratching post .

BRANDED BY VICIOUS BOYFRIEND'S SOVEREIGN RING

A deranged dad beat his girlfriend so savagely in a vicious 30 minute attack that the indent of his sovereign ring was left on her face .

MYSTERY OF THE CROOKED COTTAGE

THIS is the fascinating abandoned house, complete with mystery portraits and homely items, that has been dubbed - crooked cottage .

CHERNOBYL - 28 YEARS ON

TOMORROW (Saturday) marks the 28th anniversary of the nuclear disaster that left the city of Chernobyl devastated .

LIGHTHOUSES OVERLOOK GLOWING SUNRISES

The lighthouses of Brittany, from Brest to Le Conquet, stand tall on France’s north-western coast against stunning scenery .

TEST COULD HAVE SAVED ME FROM CERVICAL CANCER AT 20

A young woman has told how she has been robbed of her fertility and now faces an uncertain future after she was diagnosed with cervical cancer at the age of just 22 .

WOMAN WHO SUFFERED 200 ALLERGIC REACTIONS CROWNED BEAUTY QUEEN

A woman who has suffered over 200 allergic reactions in seven years, has been crowned a BEAUTY QUEEN .

SOMERSET FLOODING

Villages on the Somerset Levels have faced weeks of flooding with no respite from the conditions in sight .

MILLIONS OF SARDINES CREATE A TORNADO WAVE

THIS incredible shimmer of silver fish mirrors the image of that of an underwater tornado .