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
RED SMOKE AT NIGHT, VOLCANO SPOTTERS DELIGHT

With the vivid red smoke billowing into the sky amid the misty sand dunes, these are the blissful views provided at the break of dawn at a volcano .

AMAZING AURORA BOREALIS

A GLOWING range of greens and blues sweep across the sky in a spectacular display of light .

LONDON 2012: FUNNY OLYMPIC BAGS SAY 'THEY'RE ALL ON STEROIDS

While the various controversies rumble on regarding transport, security issues and overly-officious copyright enforcement, a couple of designers is saying what we're all thinking about the Olympics - and putting it on bags .

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 .

DOG WHO HAD HER EYES GOUGED OUT FINDS LOVING HOME IN THE UK

An adorable rescue dog who had her eyes gouged out by thugs in Romania has found a loving home in the UK .

MAN LOSES 20 STONE AFTER FOOD ADDICTION RUNS UP £15K DEBT

A man has lost an incredible 20st after his addiction to food left him £15k in debt .

BOOM SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE THE ROOM

WELCOME to the 125 decibel boombox bus that could damage your hearing if you party too close to its giant speakers .

MESMERISING FUNGI

With luminous colours and alien- like features, these magical mushrooms look like they belong on another planet .

SWIMMING WITH WHALE SHARKS

A diver looks like a minnow as she swims alongside a gigantic whale shark, the largest species of fish on the planet .

PENSIONER’S 100K MILK BOTTLE COLLECTION

FOR someone who hates milk, pensioner Steve Wheeler has got an udder-lot of it - nearly 20,000 bottles in fact .

HUBBY SAVED ME FROM BEING MAULED BY NEIGHBOUR’S FRIEND WHO TORE CHUNK OUT OF MY CHEEK AND LEFT ME SCARRED FOR LIFE

A mother-of-one has revealed how a neighbour’s friend ‘mauled’ her face, leaving her scarred for life .

OUT OF THIS WORLD PLANET CAKES

Complete with core, mantle and crust, these incredible planet cakes are truly out of this world .