She was the 18th century celebrity who made men faint in awe of her beauty by her very presence. But her beauty - and her vanity - led to her demise as the lead-based make-up she insisted on plastering on daily resulted first in the loss of her looks, then deadly blood poisoning. Now the grand 7ft mirror in which Maria Gunning, the former Countess of Coventry, admired her stunning reflection has been auctioned off for more than £300,000. Labelled the first victim of vanity, Maria died aged 27 in 1760 after her love of make-up resulted in her untimely death. The 253-year-old mirror sold well above its estimate even though her condition meant she the society hostess used it for a matter of just months. A glorious George II giltwood overmantel design, it was bought for her by her husband The Sixth Earl of Coventry in 1759, who is said to have been so frustrated by his wife's love of make up that he would chase her around the dinner table with a handkerchief, trying wipe it from her face.
This daredevil wildebeest tried a walk on the wild side - straight into the snatches of a huge 18 foot crocodile .
What lies beneath this building site? Britain's great hope of winning the pre-WW2 arms race against Nazi Germany .
PERCHED on a branch, these two frogs hold hands as they look into the camera .
A woman was left shocked after her hunky boyfriend confessed he was actually born a GIRL .
A woman who was left scarred for life by an acid attack orchestrated by her ex partner has told of her ordeal and her battled to rebuild her life .
TWIN SISTERS from Australia have taken their sisterly bond to the extreme by spending £150,000 to look IDENTICAL .
Tina O’Brien, 54, from East Midlands, met Frederick Allchorne, now 62, when she was 15 .
The Royal Mail moggy, who is now facing eviction from the premises – MEET the Royal Mail moggy facing eviction from the sorting room by an ‘elf n’ safety diktat .
WELCOME to the real Frankenstein's lab where carefully pickled creatures are left to stew in jars .
THIS DANGER-mad female pensioner could be the oldest Brit to cage dive with CROCODILES .
FROM A mini table and chairs to a detailed violin, it’s hard to believe these incredible sculptures are all carved into the nib of PENCILS .