HMS ARK ROYAL ARRIVES AT SHIP GRAVEYARD- LANGUISHING
HMS Ark Royal arrives in the Turkish port of Aliaga at the ship scrapping firm Leyal’s yard. The former flagship of the Royal Navy will now be turned into slabs of steel and sold by the Kilo. The 22,000 ton ship, which carried 22 aircraft and had a complement of 1,051, was retired five years ahead of schedule in 2011, a high-profile casualty of the government’s controversial defence cuts. Tears were shed when, after more than a quarter of a century of service, Britain’s most famous warship left Portsmouth last month and began her final solemn journey.The mighty aircraft carrier was sold to ship recycling firm Leyal for £2.9m, where it now faces the ultimate indignity of being taken apart like a scrapped second hand car.
Other great stories
PORTRAITS IN PAKISTAN
A photographer from the United Arab Emirates travelled to Pakistan where he captured the lives of local people in a series of expressive portraits .
HOPE FOR HOMELESS HEDGEHOG
SNUGGLED up in the hay away from the elements, this adorable hoglet has sought solace with a familiar friend .
SNOWY SQUIRRELS PLAY A GAME OF BALL
Throwing their arms up in the air, these energetic squirrels play a game of ball with a walnut .
BOY WHOSE BRAIN GREW IN NOSE IS REAL-LIFE PINOCCHIO
A little boy whose brain grew inside his nose has been described as the 'real-life Pinocchio' by his proud mum .
SUNBATHING MEERKAT MAKES THE MOST OF UK SUN
LYING flat out on his back, this little meerkat makes the most of the English sunshine .
GAME OF THRONES FAN IS JON SNOW'S DOPPELGANGER
A psychology student from California looks so much like Game of Thrones' Jon Snow that he is mobbed by fans of the fantasy show .
SNOWHERE TO HIDE MY NUTS! RARE RED SQUIRRELS FROLIC IN THE SNOW
If you had to scrape the snow off your car this morning or slip-slide your way into work over icy pavements spare a thought for these little critters .
SHOOTING IN WALSALL, TWO DEAD
Two people have been arrested after a man and woman were shot dead at a house in the Midlands in the early hours of this morning .
ABANDONED CARE HOME LIES FORGOTTEN
BEHIND the doors of this building, with its stacks of mattresses and discarded remains of wheelchairs, lies another victim of austerity cuts .
JUSTIN BIEBER FAN LOSES 7 STONE TO BE HIS 'GIRLFRIEND'
Bryanna Debinder, 20, from Pennsylvania in the USA, has lost 7 stone in order to impress her idol .
CHIPS IN: MAN MAKES £4K A MONTH SENDING POTATOES IN THE POST
A man has made a SPUD-TACULAR amount of money sending potatoes in the post .
