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.
A young mum-to-be who was told she would never fall pregnant due to a rare condition has decided to keep her miracle baby even though his birth could leave her paralysed and in pain forever .
Sam Notaro built his own flood defences to protect his four-bedroom home in Moorland, Somerset Flooding is likely to get worse around Somerset as groundwater levels continue to rise .
A blanket of fog is lit up by the colourful glowing lights of the city below .
This daredevil wildebeest tried a walk on the wild side - straight into the snatches of a huge 18 foot crocodile .
A woman has lost an incredible 13st after a group of men cruelly threw a kebab at her as she walked down the street .
Staring death in the face, a little field mouse bravely confronts a hungry cat .
Grandmother Janet Kirby was told she couldn't board her plane home after being accused of assault .
From squids to Star Wars, these flipping marvellous creations are pancake portraits .
A diver explores the crystal clear waters of the Silfra canyon in southern Iceland, which is the only place on Earth where you can dive or snorkel between two continental plates .
A SPECTRUM of colours fills the sky during this spectacular and natural display of light .
This hungry white tiger has just one thing on her mind - to taste fresh meat .
FROM MRS Patmore to Lady Sybil, these barking mad illustrations show the WOOF-er side of some of our most loved Downton characters .