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.
Kevin Silva, 52 from Indiana in the USA, has spent an estimated £65K ($100K) on Batman trinkets over the years, and even keeps his 2,500-item haul in his very own basement 'Bat Cave' .
An Indonesian farmer is dragged through muddy water as he clings to the tails of two charging cows .
Britons have finally received some good news about the weather with temperatures expected to reach 30 degrees this weekend .
From the crisp, snow clad mountains to vivid bright blue rivers, these breath-taking photographs capture the incredible beauty of various landscapes across France and Italy .
A woman has told how she fled to Australia, after a one night stand burned down her house .
An Italian photographer travelled to northern India where he visited poverty stricken suburbs and captured ordinary people in a series of intimate and expressive portraits .
AN ARRAY of colours, from pinks to blues and oranges, fill the night sky to create an amazing collection of interstellar patterns .
Pouncing down on top of his twin brother, these two snow leopard cubs practice their kung-fu moves .
FULL OF STUNNING colours and swirling shapes, the furrows on these fields create a mix of mesmerising patterns .
Going for long rides through vast fields together, this twosome share an unbreakable bond .
A kingfisher’s bright blue and orange feathers glisten in the sunlight as the bird dives into a lake .