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.
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 .
A young otter wades through a lake with his eyes set on an older rival’s fish .
A British jewellery designer with a passion for London's iconic Gherkin has created a pen with an INK-REDIBLE price tag of £27,500 .
A Gary Barlow superfan has lost an incredible 11st after a selfie with the pop star left her horrified by her 22st 9lb figure .
A trout manages to escape the jaws of a hungry cormorant - only to find itself back inside the bird's long beak .
Pouncing down on top of his twin brother, these two snow leopard cubs practice their kung-fu moves .
WONDERS of the world have been transformed into their mini-versions in a seven-year round the world adventure .
A blanket of fog is lit up by the colourful glowing lights of the city below .
Ornate chandeliers and mahogany panelling give a glimpse into this abandoned building's former glory after it's been left to rot for the past decade .
A woman branded the Jolly Green Giant by SOLE-crushing school bullies for her whopping size nine feet has had the last laugh by opening a shoe shop for big footed girls .
Families in an Indian slum put their lives on the line by living on top of an ACTIVE railway track .
An adorable orangutan named Pongo celebrates his first birthday at Zoo Atlanta, Georgia, America .