Blind woman breaks TWO world records for catching giant catfish

A fisherman who introduced his blind wife to fishing has been upstaged twice - as he watched her break two world records for catching giant catfish.

Retired gardener Alan Penfold, 63, decided to start bringing wife Sheila along on his fishing trips four years ago but wouldn't have expected to be upstaged by his partially-sighted partner.

She has broken the record for the biggest catfish ever caught by a woman and then hooked the largest albino catfish ever caught in two fishing holidays.

Alan and Sheila regularly take trips to the famous River Ebro, near Barcelona, Spain to fish - but Mr Penfold could be forgiven for thinking that his wife's degenerative eye condition Retinitis Pigmentosa would prevent her matching him.

The great grandmother's first big catch came when she caught a 214lb monster catfish in 2009 - the largest ever caught by a woman. The amateur angler had to be directed where to place her bait.

Weighing the equivalent of 15.3 stones - around twice the weight of X Factor judge Cheryl Cole - she posed for a photo with the beast before putting it back into the water.

Husband Alan, who has caught dozens of catfish that are almost as big but never managed anything as large, vowed to snare a bigger monster when the pair flew out for a two week break two months ago.

Within days of the couple arriving in Spain, Alan managed to hook another mammoth catfish - but when he put it on the scales it came to just 2lb under his wife's 2009 record at 212lb.

He then reeled in another giant of the deep, but again he failed to beat his wife's catch after it came in on the nose at exactly the same as his wife's catch the year before - 214lb.

Sheila, speaking today, said: 'Alan was happy he managed to equal my catch, but he didn't quite manage to beat it.'

The 59-year-old housewife, who has three children, three grandchildren and one great grandchild, said her second record-breaker came on October 4 this year when she reeled in a rare albino catfish.

She was rowed out into the middle of the river to place her bait before heading back to the shore - and within minutes she felt a tug on her line which she said 'felt like a car', she told the Angler's Mail.

After nearly an hour of reeling the fish to the surface, she almost dropped her rod in amazement when she heard people shouting around her that it was a very rare catfish.

Four fellow fishermen and the tour guide helped Sheila, from Wandsworth, south London, get the huge fish onto dry land.

The previous world record for an albino catfish- caught by either a man or a woman - was just 179lb, almost a stone lighter than Sheila's catch.

Speaking about the moment she hooked the albino catfish, Sheila - who is just 5ft 3ins - said: 'When I first felt the tug I thought, 'this is either a good biter or a massive fish and then all of a sudden it started streaming off the line and it felt like I had hooked a car.'

Sheila said: 'I only started fishing four years ago after Alan and my son Arthur said how much fun it was, so I thought I would give it a go.

'My first catch was a 106lb catfish and I never really thought I'd do much better than that, but now I have two world records which is amazing.

'It's funny really because Alan matched my 214lb catfish this year, but then I go and get another world record by catching a 192lb albino catfish which put his catch in the shade somewhat.'

Alan said: 'What can I say. She's got two world records and I don't have any.

'Even when I managed to catch a whopper I couldn't beat her.'

The biggest catfish ever caught in the world by a man is a staggering 646lb - or 46 stone - Giant Mekong Catfish caught in Thailand in 2005.

The moment a kayaker plunged down a 128-foot waterfall

This is the jaw-dropping moment a lone kayaker decided to really take the plunge plummeting down a 128-foot waterfall.

Kayak legend Rafa Ortiz was caught on camera tackling the enormous Big Banana Falls, in Mexico, by extreme sports photographer Lucas Gilman.

Lucas and Rafa trekked through five miles of steaming jungle and dangerous drug growing cartels to reach the breath-taking falls with Rafa's only intention being to jump off them.

Beside the swirling whirlpool at the bottom of the falls Lucas had the job of capturing the moment Rafa made his dizzying descent.

In just seconds Rafa's tiny kayak can be seen bursting out through the water before the heart-stopping dive to the water.

Miraculously he got through the whole stunt with just a scratch, for which he needed three stitches, and a black eye.

Photographer Lucas, from Colorado, Denver, has followed extreme sports all over the world, but he said this was one of the most challenging shoots ever.

Using two cameras, one horizontal and one vertical, he had just one chance to capture the perfect shot.

He said: 'It was not like I could say to Rafa, 'do you mind climbing up 128 foot again and doing that again'.

'It's not just a question of that, it's also obviously extremely dangerous, if he comes down any other way than the right way the chances are he will be seriously injured or even be killed.

'I just seconds to get the right shot and luckily I got it.'

Lucas was photographing Rafa, who is a Red Bull freestyle kayaker and one of only four people in the world to tackle a plus 100-foot waterfall, as part of an expedition to one of the remotest regions of Mexico.

He said: 'It took us five days to get to the falls and the jungle wasn't the only thing we had to worry about, the area is heavily used by drug dealers to grow marajuana.

'I have been all over the world following extreme sports from India to Africa and Australia, and I'm always planning my next adventure.'

Lucas captured the amazing action on his camera, a Nikon D3S.

2,400-year-old bowl of soup found in tomb of ancient soldier... and it's still liquid

It's most likely past its sell-by date but Chinese archaeologists believe they have discovered a 2,400-year-old bowl of soup.

Sealed in a three-legged bronze cooking pot, the culinary find was dug up from a tomb near the ancient capital of Xian.

It is 8in high and 10in in diameter and would have been used for cooking and serving meat.

Archaeologists said the soup, which contained several bones, was still liquid but had turned green due to the oxidisation of the bronze. It is because the tomb was so tightly sealed that the liquid did not evaporate.

Liu Daiyun, of the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology, said: 'It's the first discovery of bone soup in Chinese archaeological history.

'The discovery will play an important role in studying the eating habits and culture of the Warring States Period.'

That period ran from 475 to 221BC and was a time when warlords took over small states to build up their power base.

The pot has now been resealed and sent away so that researchers can analyse its contents.

A separate bronze vessel that contained an odourless liquid, believed to be wine, was also found in the tomb.

It is thought that it could have belonged to either a member of the land-owning class or a military officer.

Xian, a city that served as China's ancient capital for over 1,100 years, is famed for the terracotta army at the burial site of Qin Shihuang. It was Qin who presided over the unification of China in 221BC and declared himself the first emperor.

The bronze pot and vessel were found in a tomb being excavated to make way for the extension of the airport in Xian.

However, this is not the oldest pot found with food in it. Five years ago a 4,000-year-old pot containing noodles was found in 2005 at a site near the Yellow River.

Little boy who hasn't eaten anything in FOUR years

A little boy has become so frightened of food and drink he hasn't eaten anything for four years.

Daniel Harrison's problem began when he suffered a severe case of acid reflux as a baby.

Because the four-year-old also suffers from autism, the memory of that painful time has stopped him from eating anything solid since.

Daniel's phobia means the only way he can get nutrition is through a tube in his stomach.

His parents, Kevin and Catherine, regularly shell out for costly trips to London's world famous Great Ormond Street Hospital from their home in Carlton, Nottingham, in a bid to find a solution.

But experts have found no way to help Daniel.

Now, in what father Kevin describes as his 'only hope', the family are determined to raise the £20,000 needed to fund a trip to a unique clinic in Austria which might be able to solve Daniel's difficult case.

Daniel has had numerous medical procedures and operations to try and correct his condition medically but with no success.

And in November 2009 he bravely fought off swine flu which developed into pneumonia and a collapsed lung.

Boots manager Kevin, 41, said his dream was to see his boy eat like any other little boy and that it would mean everything to the family.

He said: 'As a dad sitting with my boy at a table with all his feeding tubes and machines I know what it feels like to have people looking at him.

'Catherine and I worry about what would happen if something happened to us, we want Daniel to be able to eat and feed himself.

'The strain on Hannah is enormous also, to see your brother starving himself would be traumatic at any age, but she has been wonderful and is a credit to her brother

'There is nothing medically stopping our son from eating, it is in his mind, but there has been nobody yet that has managed to help him overcome that.

'The doctors at Great Ormond Street have been great, but even they don't know what to do with Daniel.

'Our only chance is to take him to University Hospital in Graz, Austria, as they are the only people who say they have treated a condition like Daniel's successfully.

'The problem is Daniel's case is so rare, even in Graz they have only seen and cured 12 youngsters and that is over 22 years.'

Using a technique not practiced in the UK the Austrian model uses a variety of in-house techniques to make a youngster realise they need and want food.

But for Kevin and his house letting manager wife Catherine, 37, their goal of helping their son is still far away as they have been told they will get no NHS help to send him abroad.

Kevin added: 'Daniel is a great little boy and his autism can be managed, but how is he meant to function in adulthood without being able to eat.

'Our local Public Health Trust (PCT) have refused to offer us any funding and even for things like help with travel costs we have been told we can't get help because we are working.

'Both Catherine and I have to take time off to take Daniel for treatment and we simply can't afford the huge cost it would take to get him to the clinic.

'There is a practical side to Daniel's condition as well, any outing is difficult to organise as we have to take lots of equipment. Our last holiday took six months to organise.

'It is also not fair for Daniel because taking his food through a tube means he has to sit still so we have to strap him down. If he could eat things would be different.'

World's smallest woman overjoyed at title by Guinness Book of Records

A woman who weighs little more than a new-born baby spoke of her joy today after being certified as the world's smallest woman.

Hatice Kocaman, just 28in tall, said she overcame bullying to become globally famous for her size.

Speaking at her home in Kadirli, Turkey, sahe said: 'I always hoped that one day the world would recognise me.

'It was hard when I was a child because all my classmates used to tease me for being small.

'But now I am famous because of my size. So it makes me feel like I am much taller.'

'I hope to travel and to meet lots of people including the tallest man in the world.

'God made me the way I am and I am proud of that. I hope I can find someone who will love me one day.'

The 21-year-old, who suffers from dwarfism, lives with her parents Ibrahim and Hatun and was also recently certified as the second-smallest adult human alive by the Guiness Book of Records.

The only adult she is taller than is Nepalese man Khagendra Thapa Magar who at 25.8 inches is the world's smallest person.

'There were no problems in my pregnancy with her and I gave birth naturally,' said her mother Hatun.

'She weighed 3lbs 10oz when she was born and was a normal baby. We never noticed any problems until she was one.

'Then we noticed she seemed to be growing more slowly than other babies.'

Ibrahim and Hatun, who also have a normal-sized son, took her for tests but doctors could not tell them what was wrong with Hatice.

Hatice continued to develop into a little girl and learned to walk and talk, but she hardly grew at all.

'She seemed to always stay the same size,' said Hatun.

'By the time she was four it looked like she had stopped growing.

'We asked the doctors to help, but they couldn't tell us what the problem was.

'We hoped she might start growing later on, but she never did.

'By the time she was ten, we realised she would always be this way.'

The parents said Hatice went for general medical checks every few years, where she was weighed and measured.

Finally they were told her condition may be due to a bone disorder caused by faulty genes carried by both parents.

The family live in a tiny home in a poor and remote area of the country.

They do not have a car and could not afford to travel to seek help for their daughter.

Hatice suffers from hip dysplasia and has a back problem, but has never received treatment for this.

Surgeons in the region are not skilled enough to operate on Hatice because of her size.

Hatice, who weighs just 15lbs, went to a special school but has never been able to find work.

Now she stays at home with her parents and likes to help her mum doing small jobs.

Hatice has always dreamed of becoming famous and news about her tiny size began to spread as she got older.

Finally an investigator for the Guinness Book of Records visited the area to see the family.

Hatice and her mum were invited to Istanbul where she was finally named the world's smallest woman.

Hatice says: 'I can carry little things and clean a little.

'I am happy living with my family. But I would like to be stronger, so I can do more things for myself.'

World’s fattest woman is warned after hitting FIFTY STONE

A woman believed to be the world's fattest at 50 stone (700lbs) is facing a battle to shed weight after being told by doctors she could die.

Terri Smith is confined to her bedroom in her Ohio home unable to move, stand or roll over by herself.

Suffering from severe headaches which doctors fear could stem from a brain problem, Terri urgently needs a brain scan - but is too big to fit inside an MRI machine.

To undergo the scan and receive the life-saving treatment she may require, Terri is now embarking on a weight loss regime of exercise and healthy eating.

She relies on her husband Myron, 44, and oldest daughter Najah, 30, to do everything for her.

The 49-year-old must be washed, fed and dressed on the bed and wears nappies which her daughter and husband change.

'My husband is my guardian angel,' said Terri.

'He's stuck by me through everything. Most men would have left a long time ago and who could blame them but Myron is a living saint.'

Terri was always large - at age seven she weighed almost eight stone (112lbs).

'My nickname at school was fatso,' she said. 'No one wanted me on their sports team and that didn't help the fat.

'We grew up on soul food and no one thought anything about it.

'That's just what people did where I'm from. We never watched what we ate at all and we didn't know what was healthy and what wasn't.'

By the age of 20 Terri weighed 18 stone (252lbs) but she remained active and held a job as a mental health care worker for 20 years.

'I used to help people wash, feed and dress themselves,' she said.

'Back then I never thought that the tables would turn and someone would be doing all that stuff for me.'

After marrying her husband in 1986 Terri was big but happy.

'I prayed for a man like Myron and he came to me,' she said  'He's kind, gentle and he loves me for who I am. Even now he tells me I'm pretty, that man is amazing.'

But she continued to eat the same diet and kept on growing, while her husband and daughter stayed slim.

Terri, who suffers severe headaches, needs an MRI scan to check for a potential brain tumour but is too big to fit in any scanners or into the doors of a hospital clinic.

She faces a race against time to lose weight in a bid to qualify for gastric surgery to save her life.

When Terri was 32 she developed severe arthritis in her knees and couldn't walk for more than a few steps.

She was given an electric wheelchair and the lack of exercise made the weight pile on.

'I used to walk everywhere and be on my feet at work but suddenly I was trapped,' she said.

As the years passed her weight ballooned until she could hardly stand.

Then, after her doctor changed her diuretic medication, she gained a staggering 6.5 stone (91lb) in 30 days. She suddenly found herself bedbound and has been trapped for almost three years.

Dr. Dariush Saghafi said: "I have been seeing Terri for six months.

'Caring for someone of Terri's size is very difficult. It is very hard to move and transport her. Hospitals do not have equipment to hold someone of her girth.

'Terri needs an MRI but there are no machines in the region big enough to take her weight.

'We thought that it might be possible for Terri to have an MRI at the Cleveland Zoo in the machine used for the elephants and rhinos but the zoo does not have a  licence for humans.

'We're hoping the Cleveland clinic can find an MRI for Terri.'

Couple spends 35 years filling their home with 6,788 cans

It is the dream of millions of men to live in a house filled to the brim with beer cans.

For Nick West, that dream is a reality, even if all the tins are empty.

The Lloyds Bank worker, 51, has a collection of 6,788 British beer cans in his home in Clevedon, North Somerset.

He even forked out £1,240 for one of the first cans produced in Britain, a half-pint of Felinfoel pale ale from a brewery in South Wales.

His obsession stems back to Christmas 1975 when his future wife Deborah bought him a book about collecting beer cans when they were both 16.

Mr West said: 'Deborah sort of encouraged me and has regretted it ever since. She wasn't very happy when we had to move house to find somewhere bigger for the collection.

'She said that if we had stayed where we were, we would have paid off the mortgage by now.'

The West family's last home had to have an extension built to house the ever-growing collection. Their latest, in Clevedon, is a five-bedroom Victorian property.

There are no prizes for guessing that the largest bedroom has gone not to Mr and Mrs West, nor to either of their children, Emma, 23, and Tom, 21, but to beer cans that are stacked from floor to ceiling.

Mr West does, however, drink the beer in the cans - although it is not simply a case of tugging off the ring pull and drinking the contents before placing the can in his collection.

He said: 'You pierce the bottom with two holes, drain out the contents, drink them if you wish, then photograph the can for your records and find it the right place on the shelves.

'Cans with widgets are a nightmare because they tend to spray their contents all over the ceiling, which isn't good.'

He began his collection with a small grey can of Heineken - brought home by his parents - and has since attempted to obtain an example of every sort of canned beer ever produced in Britain, including special offers and commemorative promotions, by scouring eBay and the internet.