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. The art works entitled 'Houndton Tabby', were designed by illustrator and artist Kim Parkhurst, 39, after she combined her love of drawing and Downton Abbey. 'I've been painting portraits of animals in historical costume for some time,” explains New Yorker Kim. “I've taken some familiar and beloved characters whose demeanour, personality, and appearance seemed to translate to certain breeds of dog or cat. 'I got to thinking about Mr Bates' character and storyline, and Brendan Coyle's facial structure, and how he could look hard but also had the warmest, kindest eyes.

Other great stories
EYE PAINTER

MEET the painter who makes his living squirting paint from his EYES .

EMPTY LONDON UNDERGROUND

USUALLY full to bursting, these London Underground stations stand silent and completely commuter free .

THE SECRET LIFE OF SQUIRRELS

PICKING up a tiny tea-pot with its paws, a little red squirrel struggles to prepare its morning tea .

MONKEY WITH UNCANNY RESEMBLANCE TO MARVEL COMICS’ WOLVERINE

WITH his spiked ears and yellow and blue body, a colourful monkey bears an uncanny resemblance to Marvel Comics’ Wolverine .

HUNGRY CHAMELEON CATCHES DINNER

EXPERTLY camouflaged, this clever panther chameleon knows how to catch its prey by surprise .

FOUND NEMO

A curious clownfish peaks through the tentacles of a sea anemone .

LOOK, NO HANDS! MAN CONTROLS VEHICLE USING HIS BRAIN

A Birmingham man inspired by sci-fi film Wall-E, has created a one- wheeled vehicle, controlled by signals from his BRAIN .

PHOTOGRAPHER BLENDS NIGHT AND DAY IN CITYSCAPES

ALL IS not as it seems in these deceptive cityscapes .

£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 .

ABANDONED TAVERN AND FARM SHOP

STOOD side by side next to a busy road, these buildings were once bustling with life .

HUNGRY WHITE-TAILED KITE

SOARING through the air, a hungry white-tailed kite prepares to snatch a vole from his mother’s claws .

TAXIDERMY ART BOOK

A KITTEN'S teaparty and rat's playing dominoes are the bizarre creations by one of Britain's great eccentrics pictured in an incredible new book .