Some parents would gasp at the thought of their children playing with a toy gun, but these Russian children are actually encouraged to take up real arms. Military sports club, ‘Berkut’, (meaning golden eagle), trains up tiny Vlads and Boris’, who dream of joining the elite units of the Russian army and fighting under the command of President Vladimir Putin. Pictured on their website brandishing a hand gun, is a young boy, dressed in military fatigues with his finger over the trigger. Children as young a five are sent on forced marches, given battlefield training, taught hand to hand combat, and how to use military equipment. 12 year olds are also taught to fire Kalashnikov assault rifles and other small arms. During the clubs regular camps some children are given the opportunity to parachute jump during their paratrooper training. The club based in Zhukovsky, Russia, claims to provide military training designed to develop the younger generation of the “motherland” - a term synonymous with the former Soviet Union and the communist rule of the last century.
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 .
STAIRWAY obsessed photographers have captured psychedelic shots that will mesmerise you .
A British photographer has captured the beauty of London in a stunning series of landscapes shots .
RESTING his weary head on his flipper, this little seal pup takes a much needed nap after an afternoon of strenuous yoga .
THIS may look like a dolphin through jumping hoops, but it is in fact nothing more than a clever 3D pencil drawing .
An obese woman has lost 9st after an addiction to junk food left her £1 .
This is the moment a nimble red fox and a lumbering Alaskan brown bear were locked in a tense stand-off .
A young girl has been forced to stay indoors this winter because a rare allergy to the cold could kill her .
A woman whose face and body was left scarred for life by angry sores, caused by Lupus, has become a diversity model .
HEART-MELTING shots of a French bulldog and a ten-month-old French baby could be the cutest you’re likely to see .
A woman who suffered from body dysmorphic disorder has overcome her illness by becoming a LINGERIE MODEL .
A DARING duo take their chances and scale this spectacular 82ft frozen waterfall before it collapses .