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.
ROLLING across a 65-metre-high viaduct in the Alps, the red carriages of the Bernina Express add a splash of colour to the spectacular snow-covered Swiss surroundings .
DINING under the stars, this restaurant takes you back in time - inside an ancient cave .
Bryanna Debinder, 20, from Pennsylvania in the USA, has lost 7 stone in order to impress her idol .
An obese woman has lost 9st after an addiction to junk food left her £1 .
YOU’VE heard of the northern lights now feast your eyes on the natural wonder of the SOUTHERN lights .
Forget One Direction and Cheryl Cole, a new calendar is celebrating Britain's real heroes - the nation's most inspiring mums .
Working at a height of 36,000ft, pilots may have the best view in the world .
An adorable black bear cub struggles to find the perfect spot for an afternoon nap as he wriggles around on the branch of a maple tree .
POPE MOBBED BY THOUSANDS OF WORSHIPPERS IN RIO - Thousands of worshippers gather to celebrate the Papal visit on Copacabana beach, Rio de Janeiro ,Brazil .
A mum-of-two has revealed how her childhood friend of 20 years attacked her with a cosh and broke her nose in a vicious attack .