MESMERISING FUNGI

With luminous colours and alien- like features, these magical mushrooms look like they belong on another planet. These mesmorising pictures, however, capture the beautiful variety of fungi here on Earth. The incredible images were taken by Australian photographer Stephen Axford, 62, after he became familiar with the importance of fungi in everyday life, and decided to document it twelve years ago..

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EXERCISING OTTERS

A group of otters put on a show of aqua aerobics, as they raise their flippers perfectly in sync .

BRITISH BEACH-LIFE SPLIT SHOTS

UNDERWATER and above-water seaside shots show the best of British beach-life .

MICROBES OR FLAMINGOS

FLAMINGOS from above look like the pink algae they eat .

HOUNDTON TABBY

FROM MRS Patmore to Lady Sybil, these barking mad illustrations show the WOOF-er side of some of our most loved Downton characters .

RESTLESS BEAR CUB

An adorable black bear cub struggles to find the perfect spot for an afternoon nap as he wriggles around on the branch of a maple tree .

SHARK SELFIES

NOT YOUR everyday selfie, this plucky diver poses with some of the scariest predators in the ocean .

HYPNOTIST JAILED FOR SEX ABUSE

A hypnotherapist filmed himself sexually abusing a 19-year-old patient while she was in a trance-like state .

ABANDONED CALIFORNIAN GOLD RUSH TOWN

A once bustling gold rush town in Mono County, California now stands completed deserted .

PAWS FOR THOUGHT: POLAR BEAR RELAXES IN SNOW

STARING intently into the camera, a polar bear appears to be lost in thought while relaxing in the snow .

STABBED BY SON

Daniel Blore, 21, of Innage Crescent, Bridgnorth, stabbed his mother three times in the attack on January 11 this year, Stafford Crown Court heard .

£34m TAX FRAUD RACKET JAILED

A man who conned tax officials out of £34 million and funded a lavish lifestyle of luxury hotels and restaurants has been jailed for one of the longest sentences in British criminal fraud history .

HUNGRY GORILLA ENJOYS DINNER

SHOVELLING food into his mouth, this hungry gorilla enjoys a peaceful moment at dinner time .