Aydan Ulugun was left with nasty wounds on her leg after her normally well-behaved cat Sam pounced for no apparent reason at her home in Walthamstow, east London. The 35-year-old had merely walked into her spare bedroom, where Sam spends a lot of time, when he leapt at her, sinking his teeth into her leg and clawing at her skin.

Villa-owning Britons, such as Philip Edwardes-Ker and Nina Bailey pictured, may not be able to rent properties to travellers under controversial new laws. Meanwhile, thousands of second-home owners could end up trying to sell up as the changes make it too complicated and costly to keep the property going.

It has been a year since Kaitlin Roig-DeBellis, pictured, saved the lives of 15 children, as she barricaded her pupils in a tiny bathroom at Connecticut's Sandy Hook Elementary School. The teacher doesn't know if Adam Lanza, top right, ever entered her classroom, but her quick thinking undoubtedly saved the lives of her pupils as they huddled terrified. The 30-year-old, who has taken nearly a year off work, recalled the terrifying sounds during the 11-minute shooting that killed 26 people, including 20 six and seven year olds on December 14 last year.

Harman, left, Hewitt, right, and Dromey, centre with Harman, first encountered the Paedophile Information Exchange when they were cutting their political teeth as young officials in the National Council for Civil Liberties. It emerged this week that the Labour government of the time may even have helped finance the organisation and its publication The Magpie. It is claimed the payments were signed off by a senior civil servant who worked under Labour's then Home Secretary, Merlyn Rees. However, Lord Rees is not the only prominent Labourite whose good name may be tarnished by the ugly scandal.

Emma Wilson beat 11-month-old Callum to death, shaking him so violently her neighbour's ceiling shook. He suffered brain damage, nine fractured ribs and a broken arm and leg. The 25-year-old then blamed the vicious attack on her two-year-old son, claiming he was jealous of Callum. A jury deliberated for 10 hours before returning a unanimous guilty verdict at the Old Bailey.

On Thursday, in a plain courtroom Jang Song Thaek, left, was sentenced to death as a traitor to his country by his nephew Kim Jong-un, right. His 'crime', according to the special military tribunal of the country's Ministry of State Security, was to attempt 'to overthrow the state by all sorts of intrigues and despicable methods with a wild ambition to grab the supreme power'.

A silver car can be seen drawing up to the gates of the RSPCA Birmingham Animal Centre before the driver opens a door and forces the puppy out (top right). The car is then seen speeding off, leaving the six-month-old Staffordshire bull terrier confused before she attempts to run after her owner in desperation (left). Unable to keep up with the car she runs back to the animal centre's gates (bottom right).

High street shops are under particular pressure to tempt people through the doors because of the big switch to buying online. The average discount is 42 per cent - bigger than the 36 per cent offered at the same time last year. The figures were compiled by analysts at accountants PwC, who said shoppers have become accustomed to pre-Christmas promotions.

Step forward the teenagers from Thornhill Community Academy in Dewsbury, who took centre stage in Channel 4’s Educating Yorkshire earlier this year. Filmed in both the classroom and the staffroom, the show gave equal screen time to the charismatic children and their dedicated teachers, and the result was a huge hit that went some way to restoring our faith in education.

Paul Grimshaw, from Lancashire, was caught on CCTV trying to raid Nigel Blackburn's home in Hemington, Leicestershire, by posing as a deliveryman. He asked the 56-year-old gold dealer (pictured left with his fiancée Pranne Rice) to sign a package (top right), before knocking him to the ground and tasering his neck with a stun-gun (centre right). But his plan was thwarted when Miss Rice, 29, charged at him with a kitchen knife (bottom right) - causing him to flee empty-handed. Grimshaw has been jailed for eight years after admitting aggravated burglary and possessing a stun gun with intent to commit robbery at Leicester Crown Court.

NEW Snugly wrapped in a stripey towel, the little orphan with heart-melting black eyes wriggles impatiently as he waits for his next feed at the RSPCA rescue centre in East Winch, West Norfolk. He doesn’t have long to wait, and soon he’s tucking into his lunch with as much gusto as any hungry infant.

Lord Edward Somerset, left, the second son of the Duke of Beaufort, admitted four counts of assaulting his wife Caroline, pictured right, over 21 years of their 30-year marriage while they lived at the Badminton estate. At Bristol Crown Court, the judge warned him a custodial sentence is possible and he may serve up to five years. So what has happened to Eddie Somerset, second son of the 85-year-old, 11th Duke of Beaufort, worth an estimated £135 million, whose title was created in 1682 and whose family line dates from the Plantagenet kings of England in the 12th century?

Karen Holland, 45, from Hemel Hempstead, was awarded more than £15,000 by the courts in what is believed to be the first payout of its kind in Britain. Her Sikh bosses insisted they fired her after they caught her stealing. But she accused them of turning on her when they found out she was a Wicca-practising pagan and took them to an employment tribunal, which ruled in her favour.

Michelle Noble, 47, recalls how a local police man raped her in her own bedroom in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, when she was just 14. The officer got off by resigning. Last November she tried to prosecute her attacker, but police say they cannot reopen the case without fresh evidence and all records relating to her case have been destroyed.

Zambian Leya Mtonga made a ‘conscious decision’ to conceive after she was arrested by Home Office immigration officials, a court heard. Yesterday she was accused of a ‘selfish and cynical’ act as she was jailed for two years for her involvement in a sham marriage ring – and faces being deported from Britain.

The footage taken from CCTV from the newly refurbished Birmingham New Street shows passengers, falling down the silver stairs in a surprising amount of different ways.

The world’s wealthiest artist has made such a mark on this delightful chunk of seaside that it’s already being described as Hirst-On-Sea. He’s got his own restaurant — with pickled fish on the wall in homage to that infamous pickled shark — and is in the process of building a café three doors down. In between is his art gallery, where £4,000 will buy you a limited edition print of one of Hirst’s trademark ‘spot’ paintings.

Karl Pierson has been identified as the senior who walked into Arapahoe High School in Colorado with a shotgun Friday and targeted his debate team coach. Police responded to the scene and found that the shooter, who has not been identified, injured three other students and shot at the librarian but missed before killing himself. One of the injured students is said to be in serious condition, one has been released and the third is in good condition. The shooting occurred a day before the one-year anniversary of Sandy Hook and just eight miles away from Columbine High School.

In keeping with the traditions of his Xhosa tribe, Mandela's funeral ought to be a great family gathering when the entire Mandela clan, numbering more than 70, come together. But although the huge 'marquee' constructed in the grounds of Mandela's mansion will accommodate 4,500 VIP guests, there is apparently insufficient room for many relatives.

Aaron Collins, from Hartlepool, was serving in Afghanistan for the third time when he found himself trapped underneath the collapsed rubble with Taliban soldiers shooting at him from just 10 meters away. The 25-year-old managed to free himself from the debris inside the destroyed army control room and single-handedly set about helping his colleagues, who were also trapped, while fighting off the firing Taliban.

The rare sight of pristine white precipitation greeted stunned residents of Cairo this morning who took to social media to express their shock at the freak weather in the usually sweltering capital. Elsewhere, citizens have been told not to enter or leave Jerusalem and nearly 1,500 people have had to be evacuated from stranded vehicles overnight. Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv was shut earlier this morning and Egypt's main ports on the Mediterranean and the Red Sea remained closed for the third straight day due to bad weather.

Today the subject is Christmas kitchen tips, or more accurately ‘how to get through the day without wanting to stick your own head in the oven’.

Viewers have turned on the broadcaster after the annual ceremony was called the worst in its 23-year history. Ofcom has today confirmed it has already received a number of complaints about swearing and offensive jokes. Many of the stars were drunk, which led to a series of off-colour speeches and sketches. Host Jonathan Ross had a ventriloquist's mask strapped to his face (right) and award-winner Lee Mack forced him to say 'Hello Andrew Sachs', 'I'm so sorry for being a c***'. An inebriated Alan Carr (top left) told singer Nicole Scherzinger he wanted to 'Sh-f*** your sh-brains out' on stage, while Johnny Vegas (bottom left) said some winners did not deserve their awards and took a swipe at Ricky Gervais. Afterwards even Jonathan Ross turned on Channel 4, calling them 'f****** idiots' after they cut the end of the show.