The graveyard where 'credit crunched' budget airlines send unwanted passenger jets

They litter the airfield like so many discarded toys.

Many of these passenger jets are casualties of the credit crunch.

Some belonged to XL Airways, the low-cost airline which ceased operation in September, leaving 85,000 holidaymakers stranded across the world.

Others pictured here at Lasham airfield near Basingstoke, Hampshire, belonged to Futura International Airways, a small operator based in Majorca which was particularly prominent at major airports in Scotland.

It was declared bankrupt in September. Yet more used to fly for the transatlantic budget carrier Zoom, which in August suspended all its flights after failing to pay its bills.
In all, 11 of the aircraft in this picture are credit-crunch victims with the rest there for work by the ATC independent aircraft maintenance company.

ATC says all 11 are owned by leasing companies which are now seeking to home them with new operators.

House of horrors: Council workmen find 100 TONNES of rubbish in pensioner's home

There were no human bodies inside, but Merv Jones's home was truly a house of horrors.

Every room in the three-storey terraced house was filled from floor to ceiling with an assortment of bric-a-brac and rubbish.

The junk was even stacked in the hall close to the front door, making it almost impossible to get inside and both front and back gardens were a mess.

After years of complaints from neighbours in Grimsby, council officials finally moved in to tackle the job of emptying the building.

Incredibly they removed more than 100 tonnes of material, filling skip after skip after skip.

The extraordinary amount and array of bric-a-brac was collected over decades by the eccentric 73-year-old owner.

Old rifles, ammunition and swords were found inside, along with thousands of everyday items you would find at a car boot sale, such as dolls, electrical equipment, toys, pictures, books and ornaments.

When asked about the clear-up Mr Jones said:'It's not pleasant living here. I wanted to clear it myself. I was trying to get it done.'

The pensioner was put up in a hotel while his house was emptied and the North East Lincolnshire Council intends to reclaim the cost of the operation from him.

Local residents regarded the property as a blight on their neighbourhood.

Alyson Thomson, 58, a sales manager who lives next door, said:'It is hard to imagine how he did it, but I believe he was living in the house because I would hear his front door open and he would go inside and not come out until the next morning.

'Every room was crammed from floor to ceiling with rubbish, it has been complete hell living next door to him for five-and-a-half years. I am horrified that he had a dog living there with him.

There was a handgun, swords and nearly a dozen air rifles, they found propane gas and chemicals and they had to stop work whilst the fire brigade handles those chemicals.

'I have been living next door to a potential bomb, filth and rats. On the day they started clearing he challenged me in the street saying "what have you been saying about me?"

'I told him that he lived like a filthy pig and that was insulting to pigs and the police cautioned me saying they didn't want to provoke the situation.

'He does not wash and wears his clothes until they stand up on their own. He has been collecting this stuff for 40 years.

'No normal person would live like that so there must be something wrong with him. To me the house is unfit for human habitation.'

Mrs Thomson said council officials clearing the huge amounts of rubbish found six skeletons of dogs. Windows upstairs shattered years ago and pigeons moved into the loft.

Mr Jones originally ran a second hand shop in his street.

He bought and sold a variety of household items as well as model engineering equipment, plant machinery and tools.

The business has been closed for a decade, but the house nearby was crammed full of far more than simple 'left overs' from the business.

The three-storey terraced house is privately-owned and in good condition would be worth at least £100,000.

It took a team of council contractors and officials almost three weeks to clear the building.

Mr Jones would sit on a bench nearby and watch his house being emptied into a succession of skips.

Council officials are believed to be investigating two other addresses thought to be owned by Mr Jones and containing more bric-a-brac.

It is not known what he intends to do with the house that has just been cleared.

A warrant was granted at Grimsby Magistrates Court uner the 1936 Public Health Act which allows authorities to take control of 'filthy and verminous properties.'

John Waite, the council's environmental enforcement manager, said he believed the house had no running water or gas and was unsure about where the electrical supply had come from.

'Primarily this has been done for the welfare of the occupant, but also for residents.'

Pest controllers were called in to lay bait for huge rats 'the size of small cats' living in the house and contractors were praised by neighbours.

Tina Blanchard, 41, said:'It's awful, really horrible and they deserve a medal for the job they are doing.'

Tree-living fungus that manufactures diesel could be new source of green energy

A tree-living fungus that manufactures diesel fuel has been discovered in South America.

Experts believe the organism, Gliocladium roseum, could potentially be a completely new source of green energy.

The fungus, which lives inside the Ulmo tree in the Patagonian rainforest, naturally produces hydrocarbon fuel similar to the diesel used in cars and trucks.

Scientists were amazed to find that it was able to convert plant cellulose directly into the biofuel, dubbed 'myco-diesel'.

Crops normally have to converted to sugar and ferment before they can be turned into useful fuel.

Professor Gary Strobel, from Montana State University in the U.S., said: 'G. roseum can make myco-diesel directly from cellulose, the main compound found in plants and paper.

'This means if the fungus was used to make fuel, a step in the production process could be skipped.'

Prof Strobel led an investigation into novel fungi in the rainforests of northern Patagonia, which cross the borders of Argentina and Chile.

He found that when the diesel fuel fungus was exposed to potentially toxic antibiotics, it reacted defensively by generating volatile gases.

'Then when we examined the gas composition of G. roseum, we were totally surprised to learn that it was making a plethora of hydrocarbons and hydrocarbon derivatives,' said Prof Strobel.

'The results were totally unexpected and very exciting and almost every hair on my arms stood on end.'

Cellulose provides the fibrous supporting structure of plants. During biofuel production, cellulose from plant waste is first treated with enzymes that turn it into sugar. Microbes then ferment the sugar into inflammable ethanol.

Nearly 430 million tonnes of plant waste is produced from farmland each year around the world.

Prof Strobel said: 'We were very excited to discover that G. roseum can digest cellulose. Although the fungus makes less myco-diesel when it feeds on cellulose compared to sugars, new developments in fermentation technology and genetic manipulation could help improve the yield.

'In fact, the genes of the fungus are just as useful as the fungus itself in the development of new biofuels.

'The discovery also questions our knowledge of the way fossil fuels are made. The accepted theory is that crude oil, which is used to make diesel, is formed from the remains of dead plants and animals that have been exposed to heat and pressure for millions of years.

'If fungi like this are producing myco-diesel all over the rainforest, they may have contributed to the formation of fossil fuels.'

The findings appear in the November issue of the journal Microbiology.

Britain's ugliest dog Hubble searches for new life after being abandoned

It is a distinction few people would want.

But Hubble – branded Britain’s ugliest dog – is more concerned about burying bones and fetching sticks.

Yet that didn’t stop his owners leaving the eight-year-old tied up in a wood a fortnight ago due to his less-than-handsome looks.

Luckily the mongrel, who was left disfigured after being injured in his youth, was saved by bighearted animal rescue workers.

And now they are looking to find the unsightly pooch a new, more loving owner – preferably someone who prefers personality to looks.

Amanda Sands, the manager of the Dogs Trust centre in Leeds, said the black terrier-type cross looked even worse when he was first brought in.

He had several rotting canine teeth and infected gums, which were removed and treated with antibiotics.

She said: ‘Hubble is one of the strangest looking dogs I’ve ever seen but he makes up for it in personality. Even though he looks quite odd it kind of gives him a cute factor.

‘He’s very loyal and just loves human company so he would make a brilliant best friend for that special person who can see past what he looks like.

‘It’s a shame but ordinarily we would expect him to stay here for quite some time.

‘People do tend to come and pick the cuter dogs. The others - our “sticky dogs” - can be here for months.

‘Hubble is definitely a bit unusual but he’s a very sweet dog. It would be a shame if someone missed out on him because of what he looks like.

'He’s a great little dog. ‘Hubble’s injury to his mouth appears to be an old one. He is not in any pain and is entirely healthy.

‘He would be best suited to a home with only adults or older children and no other pets, so he can be the centre of attention.

Ms Sands said: ‘It’s sad but sometimes people do abandon pets who don’t look “normal”. It can be for a number of reasons and unfortunately that is one of them.

‘I don’t think that Hubble is aware of his unusual looks. He’s confidence has grown every day since he arrived and we love him to bits.

‘It will sad to see him go but we’re always overjoyed when one of our dogs goes to a good home.’

The Dogs Trust has recently been hit hard by the credit crunch, with more people wanting to get rid of their pets and less people prepared to take them on.

Ms Sands added: ‘We have about 100 dogs in at the moment, but if we had the room that would be hundreds.

‘We have a waiting list full of people who tell us they want us to take in their dog.’ Anyone brave enough to adopt Hubble or find out more about the Dogs Trust can call 0113 281 4920.

Tickets please! A perilous (and free) ride ride home for Muslim pilgrims in Pakistan

It must be a nightmare for the ticket collector, but these Muslim pilgrims in Pakistan were still smiling as they clung on to a packed train.

You can barely see the carriages because there are so many people and although it is common for 'passengers' ride on the roofs of trains and buses in Pakistan, even this level of 'outdoor' commuters is extreme for the country.


The crowds were returning home at the end of the three-day Sunni Muslim festival in the ancient city of Multan.

Organisers of the event claim is is the second largest gathering of Muslims in the world after the Hajj in the Holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

The annual festival is organised by Dawat-e-Islami, which claims to be a non-political religous 'international propagational movement'.


It says its principle objective is to preach and guide Muslims to act upon the teachings of the Holy Quran.

March of the dustbin Stasi: Half of councils use anti-terror laws to watch people putting rubbish out on the wrong day

More than half of town halls admit using anti-terror laws to spy on families suspected of putting their rubbish out on the wrong day.

Their tactics include putting secret cameras in tin cans, on lamp posts and even in the homes of 'friendly' residents.

The local authorities admitted that one of their main aims was to catch householders who put their bins out early.
The shocking way in which the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act - an anti-terror law - is being used was revealed through freedom of information requests made by the Daily Mail.

MPs and civil liberties groups last night accused councils of using the draconian powers for trivial reasons.

Shami Chakrabarti of Liberty said: 'Snooping appears to have become the favourite pastime in town halls up and down the land.

'Common sense has gone out of the window and instead of putting out more bins, councils spy on householders as if they were terrorists.'

Tory communities spokesman Eric Pickles said: 'Under Labour, the rights and liberties of law-abiding citizens are being eroded through plans for ID cards, sinister microchip spies in bins and abuse of anti-terror laws by councils.

'Taxpayers' money is being wasted on bankrolling an army of municipal bureaucrats who have watched too many episodes of Spooks.'

The Mail requested information from all of the 474 councils in England. Of the 151 which replied, some 77 - more than half - said they had used the legislation in the last three years for suspected 'domestic waste, littering or fly-tipping offences'.

Although it is ostensibly an anti-terror law, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, or RIPA, is worded so loosely that it can be used to justify surveillance operations for a variety of reasons.
graphic

These include spying to 'protect public health' or the 'economic well-being of the UK'.

This means that councils can use the powers granted by the Act to monitor families' treatment of household waste.

In Lincolnshire, West Lindsey District Council uses the new powers to place motion-activated cameras on lamp posts to catch homeowners putting their bins out at the wrong time.

One officer told an undercover reporter: 'In some areas, particularly where there is terraced housing, we have a problem with people putting their black rubbish bags out three or four days early.

'When they have been left in alleyways or at the rear of terraced properties, it is difficult to identify exactly who has placed them there.

'The cameras are hidden in tin cans or put on lamp posts and allow us to monitor who is coming out of which property and leaving their rubbish. Sometimes we are able to put these cameras inside peoples' homes that overlook the alleyways.

Shami Chakrabarti

Shami Chakrabarti: 'Snooping appears to have become the favourite pastime in town halls up and down the land'

'These are usually residents who have complained to us about rubbish being dumped outside their house on the wrong day.'

The council said it had been able to hand out 'several' fixed penalty notices on the basis of the evidence it had obtained.

Officers at Southwark District Council also admitted that they had mounted cameras on lamp posts to spy on residents suspected of leaving rubbish out at the wrong time.

The revelations have raised fresh concerns about the Home Office's plans to create a 'Big Brother' database of every citizen's e-mail and internet records.

Ministers say that councils will not have access to the information.

But critics point out that RIPA, which was passed as anti-terror legislation, is now being routinely used by town halls - and the same could happen with the database.

Phil Booth, of the NO2ID campaign, said that public bodies were 'assembling the tools of a totalitarian state'.

He added: 'We are no longer living in what most would recognise as a free society. This is not justifiable or proportionate.'

Mark Wallace, of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: 'It is crazy that so many councils are using anti-terror legislation to spy on their residents. It must cost a huge amount for all these concealed cameras, just to give a few people relatively low-level fines.'

Other local authorities which gave details of how they used RIPA included Lewes District Council in East Sussex.

It admitted that the Act was used to gain evidence on residents who persistently left rubbish out at the wrong time.

South Bedfordshire council also admitted going through phone bills inside rubbish bags to identify who had left them outside.

Officers also electronically tagged certain types of rubbish to find out if they had been dumped illegally.

Wycombe District council in Buckinghamshire put an electronic tag on rubbish left outside a shop to see if it was taken.

A spokesman for the Local Government Association, which represents councils, said: 'The LGA has written to councils to say that surveillance should not be undertaken unless it is absolutely necessary and proportionate to the crime that's being investigated.

'Councils have a duty to protect their residents and are tuned in to the worries people might have about surveillance.

'These powers are essential in making sure that benefits cheats, fly-tippers, rogue traders and other serious criminals are caught and brought to justice.'

Spooktacular! But will your family's Halloween pumpkin look as scary as this tonight?

In windows across Britain tonight, ghoulish faces, carved from pumpkins and illuminated by candles, will stare out eerily at passers-by.

But while most are no more than two eyes and a toothy grin, Scott Cummins and Ray Villafane have taken their pumpkin heads to a whole new level - as these extraordinary pictures show.

In just an hour or two of carving, slicing and gouging, and using everything from spoons and scalpels to garden spades, these incredible pumpkin Picassos can transform a humble Halloween gourd into a spitting image of Barack Obama or a Star Wars stormtrooper.

Using his background in high art and his work in designing models for D.C and Marvel comics, Ray, 39, has sculpted intricate faces out of the common pumpkin that make your hair stand on end.

Based in the rural Michigan town of Ballaire, Ray's pumpkins have become something of an internet sensation, and include some familiar faces.

His carvings, which include 'The Predator' and Barack Obama, also take in a wide variety of gothic gargoyles in keeping with the devilish theme of the popular American holiday.

Using only common clay carving tools to create his Halloween pumpkin masterpieces, Ray explains how his artistic method works.

'Not all pumpkins will look good and the most important thing about a pumpkin is it weight. You need to pick the meatiest pumpkin.

'Sometimes I pick up a beautifully shaped pumpkin but when I pick it up I realise that it is not heavy enough. Its wall is just not thick enough for the carving rigours.

'I also like a pumpkin with character. One with nobly ridges is good, so that I can utilise that in the carving procedure, like with sculpting noses,' says Ray.

'The sculpting has always been a passion,' says Ray.

'I used to be an art teacher for 13 years at a Michigan School called Bellaire school and one day I was approached for Halloween to do some pumpkin carving.

'I thought why don't I try and carve the pumpkin like it is a piece of clay as opposed to a large vegetable.


'It came out alright, but the most important result was that the kids at the school absolutely loved it.

'I used to arrive at school and there would be a dozen pumpkins just sitting there waiting for me at my classroom,' explains the pumpkin carver.

At the beginning Ray didn't always get the results he was looking for, resulting in a few fists through the front of the pumpkins.

However, working for D.C comics, the home of Superman and Batman, Ray has honed his incredible seasonal talent.

'Recently I have been really sitting down and giving my Halloween pumpkin designs more thought than usual due to the increased interest in my carvings.

'Now that the thing has grown in popularity I am definitely feeling the pressure to deliver on the pumpkin front.

'The most intricate pumpkin model that I have designed is 'The Predator' model, which took the best part of a day. Otherwise, the models take a couple of hours,' says Ray.

Over the last two Halloween's Ray's pumpkins have begun to appear in online blogs and have really raised his profile.


He has even made national television appearances and has been scheduled to appear on the US sports network ESPN where he is supposed to unveil his Barack Obama carving.

Obviously, carving a potential president is a serious pressure, so Ray has to ensure that he gets it right.

'If it is someone like Obama or even the Predator then I will have to use five or six images to make sure that I get the right details.

'If it is something that I am creating myself then I will do it off the top of my head, like the skull and gargoyles,' says Ray.

Around this time pumpkin carvings are usually a couple of triangles cut on the outside of the flesh, with his carvings Ray has seriously raised the bar to frightening levels.

Pictured: The man who was shot in the head - and caught the bullet in his NOSE

This X-ray picture shows who a man who was shot in the head by a robber survived because the bullet lodged in his nose.

Daniel Greenwood 'couldn't believe he was still alive' after the shooting at a house in Wythenshawe, Manchester.

Doctors were able to remove the bullet but Mr Greenwood says he still suffers flashbacks, sleeplessness and headaches.

He was shot while struggling with David Cummins who had tried to snatch a gold chain from around his neck.

The pair were at the house with other people when the incident took place, Manchester Crown Court heard.

Andrew MacIntosh, prosecuting, said Cummins, 21, had shown the others the 9mm handgun, which he put on a worktop before trying to grab Mr Greenwood's chain.
Mr MacIntosh said Cummins was hit on the head with a claw hammer and then he and Mr Greenwood grabbed for the gun, which went off.

The bullet hit Mr Greenwood in the face and lodged in his nose. Cummins, of Longlevens Road, Woodhouse Park, was given an indeterminate prison sentence after he admitted possessing the gun and robbery.

The prosecution accepted he had not deliberately shot his victim, and that the gun went off during the struggle.

But judge Mr Justice MacDuff told Cummins he must serve at least three and a half years before he could be considered for parole, adding: 'It was by good fortune he [Mr Greenwood] was not more seriously injured than he was.'

Cummins, who had a string of previous convictions for robbery, fled Wythenshawe after the shooting.

He was arrested by armed police in a hotel in Blackpool three days later. The gun still loaded was found in a sock.

Pictured: The life-like pumpkins carved to look like famous faces

Forget your run-of-the-mill Halloween pumpkin carvings, these incredible designs by American sculptor Ray Villafane have taken the annual ghoul-fest tradition to a different artistic level.

Using his background in high art and his work in designing models for D.C and Marvel comics, Ray, 39, has sculpted intricate faces out of the common pumpkin that make your hair stand on end.

Based in the rural Michigan town of Ballaire, Ray's pumpkins have become something of an internet sensation, and include some familiar faces.


His carvings, which include 'The Predator' and Barack Obama, also take in a wide variety of gothic gargoyles in keeping with the devilish theme of the popular American holiday.

Using only common clay carving tools to create his Halloween pumpkin masterpieces, Ray explains how his artistic method works.

'Not all pumpkins will look good and the most important thing about a pumpkin is it weight. You need to pick the meatiest pumpkin.

'Sometimes I pick up a beautifully shaped pumpkin but when I pick it up I realise that it is not heavy enough. Its wall is just not thick enough for the carving rigours.

'I also like a pumpkin with character. One with nobly ridges is good, so that I can utilise that in the carving procedure, like with sculpting noses,' says Ray.


'The sculpting has always been a passion,' says Ray.

'I used to be an art teacher for 13 years at a Michigan School called Bellaire school and one day I was approached for Halloween to do some pumpkin carving.

'I thought why don't I try and carve the pumpkin like it is a piece of clay as opposed to a large vegetable.

'It came out alright, but the most important result was that the kids at the school absolutely loved it.

'I used to arrive at school and there would be a dozen pumpkins just sitting there waiting for me at my classroom,' explains the pumpkin carver.


At the beginning Ray didn't always get the results he was looking for, resulting in a few fists through the front of the pumpkins.

However, working for D.C comics, the home of Superman and Batman, Ray has honed his incredible seasonal talent.

'Recently I have been really sitting down and giving my Halloween pumpkin designs more thought than usual due to the increased interest in my carvings.

'Now that the thing has grown in popularity I am definitely feeling the pressure to deliver on the pumpkin front.

'The most intricate pumpkin model that I have designed is 'The Predator' model, which took the best part of a day. Otherwise, the models take a couple of hours,' says Ray.

Over the last two Halloween's Ray's pumpkins have begun to appear in online blogs and have really raised his profile.

He has even made national television appearances and has been scheduled to appear on the US sports network ESPN where he is supposed to unveil his Barack Obama carving.

Obviously, carving a potential president is a serious pressure, so Ray has to ensure that he gets it right.

'If it is someone like Obama or even the Predator then I will have to use five or six images to make sure that I get the right details.

'If it is something that I am creating myself then I will do it off the top of my head, like the skull and gargoyles,' says Ray.

Around this time pumpkin carvings are usually a couple of triangles cut on the outside of the flesh, with his carvings Ray has seriously raised the bar to frightening levels.

Credit crunched: The £100,000 Ferrari wrapped around a telegraph pole

It seems unbelievable, but the only thing seriously injured in this crash was the driver's ego.

The young man behind the wheel of this £100,000 Ferrari lost control as he sped through the streets of Adelaide, Australia, and smashed into an electricity pole.

The prang left the engine and bonnet wrapped around the structure.

Incredibly, the driver and his male passenger, who have not been named, received only minor injuries.

The five-year-old black Ferrari 360 Modena crashed a few minutes after residents saw it go past their houses at high speed.

One householder said: 'I was outside my house talking when we heard something fly up towards us and it was this black Ferrari.

'It sounded just like 'zing-zing' as it roared past. I have never seen anything travel as fast as that in my life.

'Those men were lucky to be alive because the pole split the car in two and it's ended up where the gearstick should be.'

The un-named driver and his passenger were taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital for treatment, but their injuries were said to be not serious.

Pictures of the crashed vehicle resulted in one internet blogger commenting: 'I wonder what action the police will take with an idiot driving a Ferrari.'

Another commentator said: 'We're making a few assumptions here, but when a young guy is driving a Ferrari worth a quarter of a million bucks, and then splits it almost in two, someone's going to be grounded for life.'

Boy aged six is among seven obese children taken into care

At least seven morbidly obese children were taken into care last year by social services.

A boy of six who was seriously overweight, a girl of seven with a Body Mass Index three times higher than normal, and an eight-year-old girl who weighed nine stone, were among those taken from their parents
They were joined by a boy of 12 from London who had a BMI of 28 to 60 per cent above the 17.5 average for his age.

The figures were released by councils following a request under the Freedom of Information Act.

Dr Colin Waine, former head of the National Obesity Forum Charity, said more needed to be done to monitor vulnerable children before social services were forced to intervene.

Meanwhile, health minister Dawn Primarolo has hailed Disneyland for offering healthy side dishes in its fast food outlets. Ms Primarolo told the Food Standards Agency she wanted to see all food outlets 'making healthy choices a default option'.

She also praised Tesco for using the characters Tigger and Mickey Mouse to promote fresh fruit, juice, cereal and yoghurts.

The life-saving hernia operation performed on exotic fish who is 'almost family'

A fish has had a bizarre life-saving operation after developing a hernia.

Carla the 10-inch-long angelfish was laid out on an operating table while a vet and two assistants carried out the unusual surgery.

After being anaesthetised, the exotic fish had a tube placed in her mouth and water pumped through her body and out her gills to enable her to breathe.

Vet Sue Thornton repaired the stomach condition usually associated with humans using a scalpel, a needle and forceps during the £500 operation.

After being stitched up and brought round, the plucky fish was kept under close observation before she went on to make a full recovery.

Carla has been a resident at the London Aquarium for 10 years and staff decided to try to save her rather than put her to sleep when she developed the hernia.

James Oliver, deputy curator of the aquarium, said: 'Carla's problems began when this mystery swelling appeared on her side.


'Within a couple of days it burst and we feared for her survival when it left a large open wound and her internal organs exposed.'

Although her condition improved following a course of antibiotics, part of her stomach began to squeeze out of the wound.

James added: 'I guess it may seem a bit extreme to operate on a small fish but Carla has been with us for 10 years and she is almost family.

'The last thing we wanted to was to lose her.'

Vet Sue Thornton, of the International Zoo Veterinary Group, was called in to examine Carla and decided it was best to operate.

Carla was transferred to a smaller tank containing water with a carefully measured dose of anaesthetic which knocked her out.

She was then placed on an operating table while Sue carried out the 30-minute procedure.

Sue said: 'I must admit I didn't think the prognosis was very promising to begin with.

'As soon as she was asleep we moved her on to the operating surface and fed a tube from the tank into her mouth and kept her breathing by pumping the water over her gills.

'I then stitched the wound together as best I could. It was difficult because the wall tissue was very stiff, but I managed to close it.' After the surgery Carla was moved into clean water and within five minutes she came round.

The vet returned days later to remove the five stitches by which time Carla had returned to the attraction's Caribbean tropical fish display tank.

Sue added: 'I am as thrilled and delighted as James and his colleagues are that Carla is back to her best.'

Bubble-wrap baby: The tiny premature child kept alive with a little packaging

He was such a special delivery, and such incredibly fragile goods, that the usual sort of wrapping just wouldn't do.

The little mite swaddled in bubble wrap is Gregor Craig, who was born at just 24 weeks weighing a tiny 1lb 14oz - so small that his father's wedding ring fitted over his arm.

His chances of survival were slim, but doctors wanted to give him every chance.

So they wrapped him in the bubble wrap to keep him warm. Hospitals often use plastic wrap to help premature babies retain their body heat, but this was the first time the doctors in Kintyre, western Scotland, had used the bubble variety.

Luckily their efforts paid off and five months later he has finally been allowed home with his family in Argyll.

His mother, Martine Craig, 29, said: 'Gregor is one of life's true survivors. We can't believe that we have him home with us after his long fight for survival.

'We just couldn't believe that anything so tiny could possibly survive.'

The couple were thrilled when Mrs Craig became pregnant with Gregor as she had suffered a previous miscarriage.

Mrs Craig said: 'We were worried about losing this baby too, but at my ten-week scan I could feel some strong kicks coming from him.'

But then just a week after her 23-week scan Mrs Craig began suffering severe stomach pain. She went to Campbeltown hospital in Kintyre where doctors told her she was suffering from a urinary tract infection. A few hours later, the infection had triggered labour and the doctors couldn't stop it.

But amazingly Gregor survived the birth. Mrs Craig, whose husband Keith, 33, is a bus driver, said: 'I was allowed to see him two hours later when I had recovered from the birth.

'He looked so fragile lying there, but at least he was alive. His nappy came up to his neck and his tiny hand was the size of a penny piece. Doctors only gave Gregor a 10 per cent chance of survival but he kept hanging on.'

He was transferred by air ambulance to the Queen Mother Hospital in Glasgow to receive specialist care. After 24 hours, doctors said his chance of survival had increased and, on the fourth day, Mrs Craig was allowed to hold her son for the first time.

She said: 'He felt so light it was just like holding a ball of wool.

'His skin was completely see-through and he was covered in wires and tubes, keeping him alive. But every day that he hung on he gave us more hope.'

At ten weeks he had laser eye surgery to stop him going blind as the blood vessels in his eyes hadn't developed properly.

After 17 weeks in hospital, when Gregor had reached 7lb, he was allowed home. He has to have daily oxygen, and his parents had to learn how to resuscitate him if necessary.

Mrs Craig said: 'He is now a happy six-month-old and incredibly all he seems to have is some slight hearing problems. It's a small price to pay for having him here with us.'