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.
A mum who weighed just 8st 1lb at eight months pregnant has battled her eating disorder to give birth to a healthy baby girl .
A TAXIDERMY truck spotted in America’s Deep South could be the most gruesome wagon on the road .
A mining town in Australia’s outback appears to be completely deserted, but its residents have escaped the scorching heat by living in underground caves .
WE’RE all familiar with the heart-wrenching pictures of dogs abandoned in animal shelters, but one photographer has found an innovative way of showcasing the pooch’s personality .
It's incredible to think anyone could live in such horrendous squalor - yet two men have been prosecuted for keeping their homes in such revolting conditions that it was no longer fit for their animals .
PICKING up a tiny tea-pot with its paws, a little red squirrel struggles to prepare its morning tea .
A lazy tree frog, tired of hopping along a branch, chooses the slowest form of transport when it jumps on top of an unsuspecting snail .
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 .
A woman left disfigured and traumatised by an addiction to lip filler injections has issued a warning to others searching for the perfect pout after the plastic chemicals nearly killed her .
A photographer has captured spellbinding images of stars swirling above the English countryside .
A cricket perches on an unusual seat after crawling up the snout of a crocodile .