A US firefighter has battled osteoarthritis and four hip replacements to break the world paddleboarding record .

An Italian photographer travelled to Chile where he visited several star-gazing sites, home to some of the world's most advanced telescopes, located in the spectacular setting of the Atacama desert .

A baby girl has become the youngest British patient to receive a life-saving cardiac operation after her heart swelled to twice its normal size within days of her birth .

A 20st mum-of-four who was dangerously obese has lost half her body weight after her son drew her as a BLOB at school .

A grey whale and her calf greet an audience of awestruck admirers on the Pacific coast of Baja California Sur, Mexico .

WE’RE all familiar with the heart-wrenching pictures of dogs abandoned in animal shelters, but one photographer has found an innovative way of showcasing the pooch’s personality .

A mother has spoken of her outrage after discovering her missing cat had been stolen - only to be told she cannot have its location due to the Data Protection Act .

Jostling their quills into the noses of some unlucky cubs, this is the moment two feisty porcupines ALMOST defeat a pride of seven lions .

At 19st and eight months pregnant, Ashley Whitfield, went into hospital to have her baby son, Isaac, delivered by emergency C-section .

FROM motorcycling to department store shopping these spookily faceless people are part of the Chinese-fad for wearing protective solar-visors in public .

SQUEEZING their furry faces through a hole in a tree, a trio of curious baby squirrels leave their nest for the first time to explore their surroundings .

With a dust covered coat hung from a wardrobe door and a pair of glasses left on a shelf, a remote farmhouse lies abandoned in the Welsh countryside .