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
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 .
FROZEN WATERFALLS
COURAGEOUS CLIMBERS scale frozen waterfalls in Canada, as the ice threatens to collapse beneath them .
ZUMBA-MAD GRAN LOSES 14ST
A Zumba-mad grandma has lost almost 14st after becoming addicted to the popular dance craze .
THE SECRET LIFE OF SQUIRRELS
PICKING up a tiny tea-pot with its paws, a little red squirrel struggles to prepare its morning tea .
'GO JUMP OFF A CLIFF' - GO COMPARE BILLBOARDS BEING DEFACED?
At first glance it might look like someone has taken their revenge on the makers of those infuriating insurance ads .
VIBRANT WOODPECKER FEEDS HER YOUNG
A middle spotted woodpecker swoops into her nest and feeds her young in a forest in Trentino, Italy .
ADORABLE SHELTER DOGS STRIKE A ‘PAWS’ TO FIND FOREVER HOMES
A group of shelter dogs showcase their loveable personalities in a series of passport-style photographs - in the hope of finding their forever homes .
TERMINAL CANCER MUM MIRACLE RECOVERY AFTER UK-FIRST OP
A mother told she had terminal cancer by doctors who ignored her pleas for help 13 times has made a miracle recovery following the UK's first operation of its kind .
WOMAN REVEALS HER 9-MONTH-OLD DAUGHTER SUFFERED HORRIFIC BURNS TO 20% OF HER BODY AFTER KNOCKING SCALDING BOTTLE WARMER OVER HERSELF AT DAYCARE
A mother-of-three has revealed how her nine-month-old daughter was severely burnt after knocking a scalding bottle warmer over herself at daycare .
HAPPILY UN-COUPLED - JILTED WOMAN THROWS DIVORCE PARTY
A woman has celebrated the end of her marriage to her unfaithful husband by throwing herself a DIVORCE PARTY .
REAL LIFE DOLLS HOUSE
Ever wished you could live in a house just like Barbie's? Canadian sculptor Heather Benning has created the life-size dollhouse of her dreams out a derelict building .
SINGING STOAT
MOUTH OPEN wide, this little stoat appears to be in mid-song as he belts out a tune for his onlookers .