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 gang whose £1-million supercar scam has echoes of the film Gone In Sixty Seconds has been jailed for a total of 12 years .
LYING back in the snow, these two polar bears share a cuddle as they call time out on playtime .
Blonde teen Jess Stubbs has certainly got girl power - as Britain’s youngest TRUCKER .
A woman with a fear of flying claims she was humiliated after an Emirates airline staff member told her she could ‘go to prison for four years’ for possessing diazepam medication .
A lazy otter finds the ideal spot to soak up the sun and sleep off his lunch .
Pic By Graham Gibson/ HotSpot Media - SHARK HYPNOTIST BALANCES SHARK IN PALM OF HIS HAND- In Pic - Diver Tom and Caribbean reef sharks in the Bahamas- A SHARK hypnotist balances these predators in the palm of his hand by sending them to sleep with a gentle nose rub .
TOWERING 65 metres into the sky, this terrifying accent is a dream for climbers .
THIS may look like a dolphin through jumping hoops, but it is in fact nothing more than a clever 3D pencil drawing .
An amputee who was cruelly nicknamed 'peg-leg' by school bullies has conquered her insecurities to become a model .
AN EXERCISING turtle and an ice-skating chick are hardly everyday exploits in the animal community .
FEAST your eyes onthe £3K luxury yurts that rock legend Mick Jagger will be basking in between Glastonbury performances this weekend .