Girl, 3, may never smile again after being scarred for life in 'devil dog' attack

A three-year-old girl may never be able to smile again after being scarred for life by a 'devil dog' who had savaged another child months earlier.

The owner of the powerful Japanese Akita fighting dog escaped prosecution for the first attack, which left the boy, 7, requiring 40 stitches, because the animal was on 'secured' property.

But the family of first victim Charlie Faulding were furious the dog wasn't put down and were taking legal action against its owner when another neighbour's child was seriously mauled last week.

Toddler Demi Franklyn was playing with the dog called Tyson outside her home when it suddenly turned on her - breaking her jaw and leaving her with horrific wounds to her head and neck.

The damage to her facial muscles and nerves is so severe she may not be able to smile properly again.

The girl's mother, Mary Davies, 39, said she had left her daughter playing in their back yard - which they share with Tyson's owner - unaware the dog had a violent history.

Demi has undergone one operation at Bradford Royal Infirmary and doctors may need to carry out reconstructive surgery on her jaw as well.

Mother-of-five Miss Davies of Shipley, West Yorkshire, said: 'I am in shock. I just don't understand how this could have happened. That animal had a taste for blood and nothing was done about it. It beggars belief.

'I just want to know why that dog wasn't put down after the first attack. Something wasn't done that should have been and it is my daughter who has paid the price.'

Last June Charlie was savaged when his football bounced into the dog owner's garden three doors away and he went to retrieve it.

The schoolboy suffered severe injuries to his head and legs.


His father Mark Faulding, 36, was alerted by the boy's 12-year-old sister and found him lying unconscious in a pool of blood.

He fought off the dog to rescue him from the neighbour's garden.

Charlie still bears the scars of the savaging and has been left traumatised by the experience, suffering nightmares and refusing to sleep alone. The family has since moved house.

Mr Faulding, a horse trainer, said: 'It is disgusting. To think the dog's owner left this animal unguarded and near children.

'He knew what this dog was capable of but he didn't stop this little girl playing near it. It is simply unbelievable. It didn't even have a muzzle on.

'We have been fighting to have this devil dog destroyed since Charlie was attacked and the only thing that made that happen was another attack on an even younger child. That child could have died.'

The dog's owner Mohammed Asam Bashir has now had Tyson put down. The first attack happened at his family home, where the dog was kept in a secure pen behind a wall and padlocked gate.

The second attack was at his business address at a different location.

Mr Bashir has been unavailable for comment.

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman confirmed the dog had been 'destroyed' and the attack on Demi was currently under investigation.

'We can confirm this dog was previously involved in an incident which resulted in no further action being taken at the time due to the circumstances,' he said.

Police decided no offence had been committed in the first incident as the dog was kept at home and secured in the garden. The boy had previously been advised not to retrieve the football unaccompanied.

Hat tricks

Paramilitary police recruits stand still as they balance hats on their heads during a training session at a military base in Hefei, Anhui province, China.

Rarely Seen Cloud Formations

There seems to be no end to strange cloud formations! From Punch hole clouds to cloud vortices, enjoy these rarely seen cloud formations!

8 Largest Giants of the Deep

The deep, dark ocean is a scary place, and it’s teeming with creatures that can inspire many a horror flick. Here’s our round-up of real-life monsters, animals that exhibit what’s known as abyssal gigantism, or the tendency for deep-sea dwellers to be much, much larger than their shallow-water cousins. It’s not known exactly why this type of gigantism occurs, but one thing’s for sure, we’re lucky that a close encounter with any of these eight giants in their natural habitat is rare!

1. Japanese Spider Crab
The Japanese spider crab can be found skulking around the bottom of the deep, dark sea floor. It can weigh up to 44 pounds, possess a leg span of almost four metres and boast a body size of 15 inches. It’s also incredibly long-lived, with a lifespan of up to 100 years.

2. Giant Isopod
It’s a pill bug on steroids! The giant isopod is a scavenger that thrives in deep, cold waters. At up to 14.5 inches in length and up to three pounds in weight, this creepy crustacean is a meaty dish that’s sometimes boiled and served in Northern Taiwanese oceanside restaurants.

3. Giant Tube Worm
If the thought of accidentally crushing an earthworm on a rainy day makes you cringe, you don’t want to know about the hordes of giant tube worms that live miles deep under the sea. These animals can grow to more than two metres long, and love the extreme heat and sulfurous environment near hydrothermal vents called ‘black smokers’.

4. Seven-arm Octopus
According to all known records, this 75 kg, four metre-long beast is the largest octopus on our planet, though some say the North Pacific Giant Octopus can grow even larger. Male octopuses have a specialized egg fertilization arm that’s coiled-up by the right eye, making it look like the octopus only has seven arms.

5. North Pacific Giant Octopus
Although the title of ‘world’s largest octopus’ is disputed, there’s no mistaking that the North Pacific giant octopus is a formidable killer. Watch this video and you’ll see that even sharks aren’t safe in its company.

6. King of Herrings
At up to 11 metres, the king of herrings is cited in the Guinness Book of World Records as being the longest fish alive. But even though it can grow to be quite large, it is very elusive; it wasn’t until 2001 that it was filmed alive.


7. Bigfin Squid
We’ll focus on two of the many monstrous squid species here, including the alien-like bigfin squid. This squid’s got huge fins that resemble dumbo-ears as well as extremely long arms and incredibly elastic tentacles that are held at strange angles to it’s body. Check out this eerie video:



8. Colossal Squid
No round-up of deep-sea monsters would be complete without recognition of the largest invertebrate in the world - the colossal squid. It’s estimated that this animal can grow up to an impressive 14 metres long, and has a body that’s both wider and heavier than the giant squid.

Science fan has Professor Stephen Hawking's face tattooed on his leg

A science fan has had Professor Stephen Hawking's face tattooed on his leg - in tribute to the 66-year-old brainbox.

Jack Newton, 23, decided to have his right leg inked with the theoretical physicist's face after reading his best-selling book A Brief History of Time - even though he didn't understand a word of it.

The tattoo - complete with a Monty Python line from the classic Life of Brian film 'He's not the messiah. He's a very naughty boy' written underneath it - has already won two trophies at tattoo conventions.

Mr Newton of Brighton, said: 'I read A Brief History of Time, but to be honest I didn't understand a word, but I respect the man and that's why I got his face tattooed on my leg.

'He has worked on some ground-breaking scientific research and is an amazing example of how illness does not necessarily stop a man from doing great things.

'He's an inspiration to us all.'

Jack, a trainee artist at the Angelic Hall tattoo studios in Brighton, spent seven hours being inked by tattoo artist Stewart Francis।
Stephen Hawking, who has an IQ of 152, suffers from a type of motor neuron disease called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis - or Lou Gehrig's disease - which means he has almost no neuromuscular control.

Do not try this at home! From a wing-walking granny to the washing machine Houdini, the world's craziest stunts

There are plenty of crazy ways to risk your life - driving a motorbike at top speed into a parked van, lying pink-faced while a truck drives over your stomach, and allowing yourself to be trapped and handcuffed in a spinning washing machine - but while most people wouldn't entertain such foolishness, stuntmen are queueing up to sample them all.

These jaw-dropping pictures were taken by American photo-journalist Jeffrey R. Werner and are featured in his new book, Incredible Stunts.

They are the results of a 30-year career spent travelling across 60 countries.

'I try to stay out of harm's way as much as possible, but once in a while things go a bit awry,' he says.

'Like when a stunt man was rocketed into the air, got the angle wrong and crashed into my head - that was quite a bloody mess.'

A word of warning: don't, whatever you do, try any of these at home.

Forget bikes, or cars or lorries. When stuntman Doug Danger dices with death, he goes large - the 160ft wingspan of a passenger jet, to be precise. And he makes it look easy, reaching the pre-calculated speed of 73mph before launching himself off a 120ft narrow ramp, straight up and over the parked plane

For escape artist Rick Meisel to get clean away he must negotiate his way out of six pairs of handcuffs and two leg irons, while trying not to drown in a soap-filled, spinning, washing machine. And he takes his 'art' very seriously. He has had himself surgically altered in order to fit better into the machine

Despite the shattering impact - the equivalent of hitting a brick wall at 120mph - both crash drivers walked away uninjured before a crowd of 55,000 at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. They owe their lives to incredibly strong strapping, special crash protectors, and a good dose of luck

Dennis Pinto from North Carolina knew that powering a motorbike at 60mph into the side of a parked van would send him pleasingly airborne. But he wanted a bit more excitement than that. So he popped on a flame-retardant outfit and set himself on fire. Amazingly, he landed on a pile of cardboard boxes, unhurt

Granny Mary Ella McLivain, 52, wears just a sun dress instead of protective harnesses as she strides across the wing of a biplane, 1,000ft in the air above Vancouver. Why? She was a secretary, but was tired of being deskbound

John Richmond claims to have shot his brother Ken more than 100 times: in the chest, face and on top of his head. Here, he has another pop at him - from 25ft, aiming not for Ken, but for the watermelon on his head and knowing that a quarter of an inch off target will mean death. Happily, both live to see another day

A truck alone wasn't enough to guarantee Strongman Tom Owen a proper work-out. So he insisted it was loaded with 20 children, before he allowed it to park on his stomach. The result? A thumbs up for the crowd minutes after, then a trip to hospital with a couple of broken ribs and internal bleeding

As world records go, being dragged along a pavement at 236mph by a 14,000-horsepower jet-car for a quarter of a mile isn't one most of us are likely to challenge. But stuntmen Reno Jaton was delighted with his achievement, despite being a little singed by flames by the end of his ordeal

It's not the usual school run - flying 109ft, over 15 motorcycles and through a giant fireball before crashing to earth. But driver Steve Hudis was delighted to break a world record in his yellow bus at this stunt filmed in Las Vegas. Oh yes, and there were no children on board

Bizarre Story: Russian Scientists Kept a Dog’s Severed Head Alive

It was widely reported in the media, that a Soviet scientist in the late 1920s by the name of Sergei Brukhonenko actually managed to keep the severed head of a dog alive. The dog’s head was reportedly connected to a primitive heart-lung machine called an “autojector” (or that’s what the inventor dubbed it). The device supposedly gives the head everything it needs to maintain life. After the jump is a video of how it’s meant to work and the actual video.

Brukhonenko presented a similar experiment in 1928 at an international scientific conference, at the Third Congress of Psysiologists of the USSR. However, his science has often been questioned. As proof of his dog experiment and to show that the head wasn’t just part of the corpse, a video follows where Brukhonenko does a series of tests. He shines a light in dog’s eyes making it blink. He hits the table with a hammer and the dog’s head reacts. And last but not least, to make things even more gross, he feeds the dog head a small piece of cheese, which lands on the table at the other end of the esophageal tube.

In this video is a removed dogs head that reacts to light, sound etc.If true, this work far predates the “whole body transplant” work of Dr Robert White in the 1960s.

36MMM breasts scoop world record

Who says porn stars lack amb­ition? Maxi Mounds has made a huge name for herself – by having the largest breast implants in the world.

Her 36MMM bust – each weighing 9kg (20lbs) – finally mawde it into the record books years after she learned there was a category for natural breasts.

'I contacted Guinness World Records and asked if they had a category for implants, but they said no, so I let it go,' she said.'Then they asked me if I was interested as they were creating a category. Eventually they told me I won.' Ms Mounds – not her real name – became a lap dancer in Florida in the 1990s.It was then the one-time ballet dancer and horse rider decided to enhance her figure.

had the old-style silicone imp­lants,' she explained. 'But then came all the scare stories, so I had them replaced with overfilled saline.'

But her chest began to sag, so she had tubes put in her armpits so she could be topped up.

In 2000, she had her implants ­removed and the pockets filled with plastic string – a procedure which has been banned. A solution was injected to make the breasts produce fluid and 'inflate' – but they kept on growing.

She doesn't have a fella now: 'It takes a very special type of person to be with someone who looks like me because of the reactions I get from people whenever I'm out in public.

'I've seen some pretty funny things happen. Men walking into things and getting slapped by their girlfriends because they were staring so hard.'

Chinese Man Sticks 2008 Needles In His Head To Mark Beijing Olympic Games

In a bizarre publicity stunt, Dr Wei Sheng pierced the decorative needles in his head, face, hands and chest in the five colours of the Olympic rings.

The picture of Dr Sheng’s was taken in Nanning, Southern China, and demonstrates the patriotic fervour among the Chinese people in the build up to September’s Games.
Dr Sheng’s latest stunt was not the first time he had gained notoriety for sticking pins in his body.

In 2004 he secured a Guinness World Record after piercing 1790 needles into his head.

Mr Sheng had planned his latest needle stunt in advance, booking a room for the Olympics in Beijing last year.

In China, people with tattoos and piercings are widely frowned upon and viewed as social outcasts.

Amazing pictures of pregnant man as he tells Oprah 'people may try to kill my baby'

The man who stunned the world when he announced he was pregnant gave an intimate insight into his personal life in a revealing television interview with Oprah.

Thomas Beatie stripped off for the cameras and bared his baby bump and also revealed pictures from his beauty queen days as a young woman.

However, the 34-year-old transsexual also told chat show host Oprah Winfrey that he feared for his own safety and admitted doctors had warned him his baby could be killed because of the revulsion at her birth.

Now six-months pregnant, Beatie walked onto the show with a grey cardigan stretched over the growing bump.

The TV chat show queen was filmed patting Beatie's bulging stomach during the hour long interview with his wife Nancy.

The 34-year-old transsexual was filmed for the show undergoing an ultrasound scan and preparing for the birth of their daughter.

Blurred images of the baby girl could clearly be seen as a smiling Beatie looked on.

Beatie said many doctors had refused to treat him and one warned him: "People would try to kill my baby because it is an abomination."

His appearance on US TV was part of a media blitz to knock down suggestions the pregnancy was a hoax.

As well as the Oprah show, Beatie also gave a detailed interview to People magazine.

The former beauty pageant queen, who conceived through artificial insemination, confessed many people saw him as a "freak".

He said some of his own family members had referred to the baby as "monster".

He accepts that not everyone will understand why he and his 45-year-old wife decided to have a child, which is due in July.

The couple, from Bend, Oregon, said they had already thought about the task of telling their child how she came into the world.

"When she's old enough, we'll sit her down and tell her everything," Beatie said.

"We will tell her how her parents love each other and love her very much.

"Our daughter is beating these incredible odds to get here - physical obstacles, social obstacles, everything.

"And in my dreams I dream the world will see her the way we do,as this amazing gift to us. As a miracle."

Beatie,who was born Tracy LaGondino in Hawaii, caused a worldwide sensation last week when he revealed the pregnancy in the gay magazine The Advocate.

But after neighbours in Oregon poured scorn on the pregnancy it was thought to be an elaborate hoax.

Beatie legally became a man after undergoing a sex change operation - but kept her female reproductive organs.

He told People magazine he decided to get pregnant after wife of five years Nancy had a hysterectomy.

"If Nancy could get pregnant, I wouldn't be doing this," he said.

"But who hires a surrogate if they are perfectly capable of carrying their own child?

"Why would I trust someone else when I know I'll do a better job of taking care of my body than anyone?

"And I'll be the father and Nancy will be the mother.

"Having this baby doesn't make me any less of a man."

Beatie said he was afraid of how people would react when he gives birth.

"I want to make it easier for the next couple like us, but I'm afraid.

"Afraid of how people will react for our safety. I don't want to lose the life we have." Nancy, a mother of two, added: "We know this is a hard thing for some people to understand.

"But to us we're just a husband and wife who are having a baby."

Hero husband rescues wife from crocodile 'death roll' by jumping on its back

A courageous husband was hailed a hero after jumping on a crocodile and poking it in the eyes to rescue his wife from its crushing jaws.

As Wendy Pethrick, 36, was attacked by the croc in a creek in Australia's remote Northern Territory, she struggled to try to prise open the two-metre reptile's jaws.

She screamed out for help to her husband Norm, who was on the bank. Without a moment's hesitation, he leapt on the croc, which was about to go into a “death roll” with Mrs Pethrick under the water.

He battered the croc, felt for its eyes and poked them until it let his wife go.

The terrified couple were then able to struggle to safety. Mother-of-three Wendy suffered eight deep puncture wounds to her left thigh, a cut to her right thigh and a severe cut to a finger.

The couple had been enjoying a day out at the Litchfield National Park, near Darwin, where swimming in the freshwater creeks is considered safe from crocodiles.

There has never been a crocodile attack there before.

From her hospital bed, Mrs Pethrick said: “I'm lucky to be alive, thanks to Norm. It's a love affair. I gave him a very big kiss.

'The croc was very fast. One minute I was standing there on the river bank and the next it had me in its teeth and was pulling me in the water.

'But my husband was even faster. He is a real hero.'

Mr Pethrick added: “When you need to save someone you love, you do it.

'You could call it a two-pronged attack. At least I can make light of it now - I'm just very, very happy that between the two of us we were able to make the croc let go.'

Dr Len Notaras, general manager of the Royal Darwin Hospital, said: 'But for his heroism and then the swift action of both husband and wife in poking the crocodile in the eyes to make it let go, this could have had a fatal and tragic ending.

'His swift and diligent actions without any doubt saved her life because once he started poking the crocodile in the eyes, his wife did the same. He bravely and selflessly responded it what was a very dangerous situation.'

The hospital dealt with three crocodile attack victims last year, he added.

Ranger Luke Playford said: 'There's been a lot of heavy rain in recent months and these saltwater crocodiles can find their way into rivers and creeks where they are not normally found,' he added.

The world's fattest man loses half his body weight - but still weighs almost 50 stone

The world's fattest man has shed half his body weight - losing a staggering 40 stone by going on a low-carb diet.

Manuel Uribe tipped the scales at a whopping 89.8 stone after a 14-year junk food binge.

The 42-year-old former mechanic, who has been bedridden for six years, stuffed his face with burgers, pizzas and fizzy drinks.

At his heaviest he suffered from lesions and sores on his legs which he bound up with duct tape to stop them from getting infected.

But he is now determined to get back to a healthy weight and after two years of intense dieting he has shed 40.7 stone.

His target weight is now 15.7 stone and his strict diet now consists of fish soup, one grapefruit, half an apple and 18 peanuts.

Manuel, who lives in Moterrey, Mexico, with his fiancée Claudia Solis Miranda and his mother Orilia, started dieting after a tearful TV appeal two years ago where he begged viewers to save his life.

Medical experts from Italy and Spain offered to carry out gastric bypass surgery on him - but he refused and instead accepted the help of US biochemist Dr Barry Sears, who prescribed the high-protein Zone Diet.

By last year he had slimmed down to 60 stone and celebrated by sipping champagne.

But despite spending 14 years gorging junk food, doctors believe Manuel's colossal weight is caused by a hormone imbalance.

One of his nutritionists, Alejandra Garcia, said: "It's about controlling his hormones. It is not some outlandish fad diet. It is simple common sense refined by science."

Manuel, whose story will be told on Extraordinary People: The World's Heaviest Man at 9pm on Five tonight, added: "I feel great. The doctors say I'm healthier than ever."

Before his diet, his usual breakfast would consist of four eggs, rice, beans and tortillas.

He said: "People think that I can eat a whole cow but it's not just overeating, it's also a hormonal problem."