James Howells, an IT worker from South Wales, generated the coins in 2009 when they were worthless, then threw them away last year while cleaning his home. At the time the coins - which are units of data stored in 'wallets' on a computer - were practically worthless. But as more and more people heard about the new currency, its value has soared.

Joanne Majic, pictured, said Watkins fantasised about sex with children, and that his 'appetites just got darker and darker'. The former boyfriend of another female fan claims the singer targeted her when she was underage, using his fame and money to seduce and then 'humiliate her'. Watkins approached young fans on the band's online forum, before meeting them in hotels and asking to do 'unspeakable things' to them and later their children, the ex-boyfriend said.

Nigella Lawson was described in court yesterday as a ‘habitual criminal’ who hid a daily cocaine habit and gave drugs to her teenage daughter. At the opening of the fraud trial against Miss Lawson’s two former assistants, the court heard there was a ‘culture of secrecy’ in the marriage between Miss Lawson and Charles Saatchi. Both Miss Lawson and Mr Saatchi now face being questioned under oath about their marriage, and on her alleged ‘habitual criminality’.

Rebecca Brown, 20, from Essex, has trichotillomania - the compulsive urge to pull out her hair. She has now posted videos on YouTube showing photos she took of herself everyday for five years. When she was 19 she had so little hair left, she was forced to shave her head. Her condition is now improving and her hair is growing back. She is pictured (top left) before she developed the condition, (top right and bottom left) while she was pulling her hair and (bottom right) now.

From left, Wendy Clifford, 55, Sarah Graystone, 31, and Pippa Lewis, 36, all dared to bare for on online diet programme. While the diet and exercise advice provided isn't anything new, what's revolutionary is that those who join have to upload a photo of themselves at the beginning of the plan, and once a week thereafter.

When American YouTube user HeyPayola's girlfriend caught wind of his plans to pop the question, he decided that not proposing - three times in the same night - was the best way to regain the element of surprise. In an adorable YouTube video titled 'Proposing to Summer (in three parts),' he takes her on a journey to their favourite places but will he get the girl in the end?

The poignancy of his dilemma is written all over Keith Hall's face (left). He may say his mind is made up, but his furrowed brow and watery eyes reveal an inner conflict. After all, it isn't easy to declare yourself ready to find a new partner when you're still married to the woman you've cherished for more than 30 years. But Keith (pictured at his wedding to wife Isobel, right) is doing just that.

Since model Tyra Banks first coined the term 'smizing' a bevvy of popular poses have been infiltrating our social networking sites, including 'pruning', 'teeging' and most recently the 'squinch' by photographer Peter Hurley. But how do you decide which one to choose? Fear not, one intrepid beauty writer is here to help. Angelica Hermon from style site neverunderdressed.com has road-tested the (supposedly) most flattering poses to see which ones really work....

Matthew Allott, who played for the Rotherham Phoenix rugby league team, hoped to sell the marijuana for £8,000, only for the plants to be stolen. An inquest into the 36-year-old's death was told he had been struggling with money for the 18 months before his death and owed £17,000. He was also being pursued by bailiffs over a £460 parking ticket.

Born with her left leg painfully twisted Mariah Serrano, 21, was told by doctors that her condition meant she would never wear high heels or be able to pursue her dream job in fashion. Determined, Miss Serrano, from New York, decided to have the lower half of her leg surgically removed and replaced with a prosthetic limb.

On the first day of her GCSEs in May, 16-year-old Jess Bacon kissed her father (inset) goodbye, put on her school uniform and headed off to the exam hall. Anyone who'd seen Jess's wan face that morning might have assumed it was down to pre-exam nerves. But only a few hours earlier, she had been sitting with her beloved father, Martin - a teacher - as he drew his last breath. He was just 46 and died after battling a brain tumour.

Sarah O'Neill (with fiancee, Tina) was once dubbed 'Mac3' due to having an excess of facial hair as a result of suffering from polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). One of the most common symptoms is a high level of male hormones, which leads to hair growth, meaning she would spend hours shaving and waxing her face. Now, having not touched her facial hair for 30 days, she said: 'I decided that it's part of me, so why should I hide it to please other people? I wanted people to know that I'm not lazy or unclean, it's just a medical condition.'

The conman boasted he could 'satisfy any woman' he met as he pestered mother-of-one Anna Avramenko for three months online before meeting her in Sumy, Ukraine. But the blonde (right) has snubbed Darwin (left) - and said she would never have met him if she knew he was a criminal. He is facing jail again after flying 1,700 miles without permission to meet up with the blonde who he bombarded with messages.

Tayyab Subhani, 30, and Mohammed Safdar, 42, were arrested on May 24 after a Boeing 777 heading from Lahore, Pakistan, to Manchester was diverted to Stansted. It had been claimed Safdar, supported by Subhani, had made threats to kill crew and passengers after an argument broke out with air stewards at 30,000 feet. But jurors at Chelmsford Crown Court were instructed to find the men, from Nelson in Lancashire, not guilty of endangering an aircraft.

Charlie Howard (pictured inset with his family) built the steps and handrail in Bridport, Dorset, for children on their way to school. The 37-year-old was ordered to remove them though by a housing association who feared being held liable for any accidents. The children now have nowhere to walk on the busy stretch of road (main picture) where the Salway Ash schoolbus collects them.

Six months ago, Ruby the Jack Russell was so fat walkies was a short waddle that left her out of breath. She piled on the pounds and ended up looking like a barrel on four legs as her owners misguidedly stuffed the former rescue dogs with treats. But now the five-year-old is far friskier and in the best of health after shedding a third of her bodyweight. Yesterday the trimmed down terrier who lives with her owner in Sunderland was named winner of the Pet Slimmer of the Year award.

Dave Bunnell, a 61-year-old adrenaline junky (inset top right) from Delaware, has traveled to 18 different countries to take on dozens of the world's dingiest pits - and his favorite is Mexico's astonishing El Sotano de las Golondrinas, The Basement of Swallows. These stunning images of the cave - one of the world's most dramatic free fall pits and a natural wonder than attracts thousands of cavers each year - show the clouds that form inside. Dave, an avid photographer, said the spectacular cloud formations inside provide a perfect opportunity for him to take stunning pictures. He set up equipment on the cave floor below to capture the remarkable images.

A host of former colleagues and acquaintances of Dayna Morales, pictured, the 22-year-old waitress who claims she was recently given a homophobic note instead of a tip, inset top, have come forward to question the credibility of her claims. Ex-Marine Morales sparked a national outrage after she claimed that she was left an anti-gay message instead of a tip when serving a family at the Gallop Asian Bistro in Branchburg, New Jersey. Jacqie Fitzpatrick, inset below, said she worked with Morales at a Cheesecake Factory in Nyack, N.Y., last year when the waitress told her coworkers that she had brain cancer before abruptly quitting.

Following a layover in Houston in 90-degree heat, baggage handlers found Michael Jarboe's dog BamBam dead on arrival in San Francisco. Jarboe said he chose to fly with his dog on United because of its highly regarded Pet Safe program, which was started at Continental Airlines before the carriers' merger.

The 11-month-old polar bear cub, who keepers have named Aurora, was discovered in Churchill in Manitoba, Canada, after her mother abandoned her in the wild. She appeared unusually thin and during a routine exam vets discovered she had some broken teeth - which led to her transportation to Assiniboine Park Zoo in nearby Winnipeg. A team headed by veterinary dentist Dr Colleen O'Morrow sedated the young bear before lying her out and removing two baby teeth and one adult tooth which was broken and infected.

Users have their tongue pierced with a magnetic stud that resembles jewelry and acts like a joystick, in the hope that it will offer them more mobility and independence. Researchers reported on Wednesday that 11 people paralyzed from the neck down rapidly learned to use the tongue device to pilot their wheelchairs through an obstacle course full of twists and turns, and also to operate a computer.

Artist Phillip K. Smith III unveiled the project Lucid Stead in Joshua Tree, California: an installation composed of mirrored planks and LED lights mounted on a 70-year-old timber shack. In daytime, the structure appeared ethereal and partially transparent thanks to strategically placed mirrors reflecting the sweeping vistas. At night, the cabin's windows and doors lit up with LED lights controlled by a computer that gradually changed hues.

He Zili has been pictured walking along the narrow lanes of his village shackled to his father in the eastern coastal province of Zhejiang. The boy was also seen chained to a pillar at his home. Zili injured his head when he was one-year-old and started suffering from mental disorders. According to his family, they had no choice but to restrain him on chains as he had a tendency to attack those around him.