CANCER DRUG FIGHT DAD DIES, EVEN AFTER LYING TO GET TREATMENT

A former soldier who bravely took on penny-pinching NHS bosses in his fight against terminal cancer has died, aged 37. Mark Bannister's wife has revealed how her husband was forced to LIE to doctors in order to get the life-prolonging treatment he had been denied due to a cruel postcode lottery. But after wasting six months of precious time trying to obtain the drug Avastin, Mark's cancer was too advanced for the medicine to have any effect. The dad-of-two succumbed to the brain tumour he had been battling for nine years at around 6am on Monday morning, with his wife Karen, 33, at his side. In tribute to her husband, who served in Northern Ireland and Bosnia during nine years in the army, grieving Karen said: "The Avastin didn't have any effect but we had to fight for six months in order to get it. "In all that time his tumour had been growing. In the end, he had to claim that he was living at another address in order to get the treatment. Who knows what would have happened if he had got the drug sooner - I truly believe it would have helped him.

Other great stories
ZANZIBAR FISHERMEN RISK THEIR LIVES FOR FOOD

VENTURING into the ocean with self-made spears and nets, the fishermen of Zanzibar put their lives on the line when they catch food for their families .

BOXING DAY SQUIRRELS

BOXING DAY has come early for this pair of feisty squirrels, as their Christmas party quickly turns sour .

INCREDIBLE FOG CREATES GLOWING LANDSCAPES OVER TAIWAN

A blanket of fog is lit up by the colourful glowing lights of the city below .

WORLD'S MOST IDYLLIC BOMB SITE BEAUTY

WELCOME to the Hidden Beach - the world's most idyllic BOMB SITE .

THE JUMP

High up in the mountains and thousands of feet off the ground, a party of climbers were in for a shock as they came face to face with this frightening leap of faith .

Desperate dog set off alarm before police smashed car window in Exmouth

The dog having been pulled from the car - A police officer smashed a window in the blue Chrysler car to free the dog which was in visible distress .

I LOST 12 STONE…AND MY VIRGINITY!

A former food addict who had spent her whole life dreaming of romance shed an astonishing 12st 7lbs to experience love for the first time .

WORLD'S MOST LIFELIKE DISNEY PRINCESS IS CALIFORNIAN MAN

Meet the world's most lifelike Disney princess - a 21-year-old man from California .

MY 20 YEAR SECRET - IT'S NOT ALOPECIA OR CANCER, I HAVE TRICHOTILLOMANIA

A mum who has hid behind the hair loss condition alopecia for the last 20 years has bravely revealed a secret compulsion to tear out her own hair that has tormented her since she was a child .

VICTIM SLAMS SENTENCE AS THUG WALKS FREE FROM COURT

A woman brutally beaten in a revenge attack has slammed the soft sentence handed to her assailant .

MICK JAGGER'S LUXURY GLASTO YURT

FEAST your eyes onthe £3K luxury yurts that rock legend Mick Jagger will be basking in between Glastonbury performances this weekend .