Red Cross forced to come to aid of flooded villagers as they use huge 4X4 to deliver basic supplies to families cut off in Somerset

The Red Cross started efforts to bring relief to flood victims in Somerset today, delivering basic supplies in a vehicle usually used in the aftermath of natural disasters in the developing world.

The 7.5-ton rescue vehicle waded through the mile-long stretch of floodwater which has surrounded Muchelney for the past four weeks carrying food and fuel for stranded residents.

It is the same model of four wheel-drive truck the Red Cross used in Indonesia in the aftermath of the Boxing Day tsunami which devastated parts of South East Asia in 2004.

This is the Red Cross Unimog 4x4 vehicle - more usually used in international humanitarian disasters - deployed in Somerset to deliver fuel to villagers in Muchelney, the village on the Somerset Levels which has been cut off by flooding since Christmas, leaving residents low on essential supplies

The 7.5-ton rescue vehicle waded through the mile-long stretch of floodwater surrounding Muchelney for the past four weeks to bring villagers urgently needed supplies

A team of 30 Red Cross volunteers today used it to deliver logs and coal to residents who were fast running out of supplies and only able to leave their village by boat.

The charity promised that it will be on hand to cart fuel, food, oxygen cylinders, portable toilets and any other heavy supplies needed by the stranded villagers until waters subside.

Muchelney resident Tineka Bradley, 43, had almost run out of fuel for the fire she had been using to keep her family warm when the volunteers arrived with supplies yesterday.

The single mother-of-two said: 'We were only putting the fire on for an hour a night to conserve fuel, and I am so grateful for the logs and fuel so I can get the house warm from when the kids get home from school.

'We were all having to cuddle up together in bed at night and wear lots of layers to keep warm.'

Ms Bradley's daughters - Gemma, 13, and Emily, ten - are forced to get a boat to and from school everyday. They are also finding it difficult to see their father, who lives in another village.

Ms Bradley added: 'It is all very worrying and constantly on my mind. It means a lot to get some help.'

A team of 30 Red Cross volunteers today used the Unimog to deliver logs and coal to residents who are only able to leave their village by boat

The charity promised that it will be on hand to cart fuel, food, oxygen cylinders, portable toilets and any other heavy supplies needed until waters subside

Tineke Bradley hugs Cheryl Murray, a British Red Cross emergency response volunteer, after she received bags of firewood. The single mother-of-two had only been able to use her fire for an hour each night - with her daughters forced to wear extra layers and huddle together in bed - because she had been running so low on fuel

Red Cross senior service manager Joanna Tennant said the vehicle - called a Unimog - will be kept in a nearby fire station.

'We anticipate the vehicle will be used by a team comprising staff from the fire service and the Red Cross,' she said.

'It could be transporting anything from oxygen cylinders to a patient who needs it to portaloos for communities where the water supply is cut off or contaminated.

'Supplies are also being taken into these communities by boat so the Unimog will be for those larger items.'

Sarah Gibson, operations director for the Red Cross in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset added: 'This tie-in between our international work and our work here in the UK is a great illustration of the fact that a crisis can happen anywhere, and to anyone.

'We want people to know that it's not the scale of the crisis or where it happens that matters but the impact on the people affected, and that's exactly why Red Cross volunteers are here to help.'

The Red Cross's relief efforts came as David Cameron today ordered river dredging to begin in flood-hit Somerset, as he said the government would do everything it could to alleviate the crisis, leaving the door open to sending in the army

The Prime Minister he warned he would not allow government in-fighting to hold up the work to remove silt and mud from riverbeds, although river levels are so high it is not currently safe to send in diggers.

It comes despite the Environment Agency refusing to accept responsibility for the ‘disaster area’, which the Commons was told has seen an area the size of Bristol left under water for a month.

Iinnovative program: Birth registration using a mobile phone technology in Tanzania

Article by Sandra Bisin/UNICEF 

This year – the 25th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child – UNICEF challenges the world to think differently about how to drive change for the world’s hardest to reach and most vulnerable children.

UNICEF’s celebration of the CRC will kick off on 30 January with the release of the State of the World’s Children in Numbers. This flagship publication is the premier source of data and information on child well-being around the world. Starting in 2014, the standardized statistical tables will be released each January, followed by a narrative report released in November to mark the date the CRC was adopted.

Data alone do not change the world, but they make change possible by providing an evidence base for action, investment and accountability.

An innovative programme piloted in Tanzania’s Mbeya region uses mobile phone technology to make birth registration simple, affordable and widely accessible – an important step in getting every child off to the right start.

MBEYA, United Republic of Tanzania, 27 January 2014 – “It’s very simple, I’ll show you,” says Adela Mwakala with a smile. In just 30 seconds, Ms. Mwakala enters the baby’s name, registration number, date of birth, mother’s name and city of residence in her mobile phone. She then sends the data via SMS to a central database in Dar es Salaam.
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Ms. Mwakala is a medical technician at Meta Hospital in Mbeya, capital city of one of the most populous regions in

Tanzania. “Every mother that comes to the hospital must get a birth certificate for her child. It's my mission,” she says proudly.

The new Tanzanian citizen registered today is a one-week-old baby girl named Gloria Celestine. “Right after I gave birth, the nurse informed me that I had to get a birth certificate for my baby,” says her mother, Yovina Constantino, 18 years old. “I know it’s important. It’s needed everywhere – for my child to access education, and employment opportunities later on.”

Nothing would seem simpler than recording the name, sex, parent age and place of a child’s birth. But the evidence in Tanzania tells another story. The country has the second-lowest rate of birth registration in the Eastern and Southern African region.

Right to an identity

“From the moment a child like Gloria Celestine is born, she or he has rights, including the right to an identity. A birth certificate is one of the most important documents a child will ever own,” says Birgithe Lund-Henriksen, UNICEF Tanzania’s Chief of Child Protection. “It is evidence that the child exists and that the Government has certain obligations with regard to the child.”

As Ms. Lund-Henriksen explains, a child without a birth certificate can face many challenges later in life, such as proving his or her age in a court of law, accessing certain services like opening a bank account or getting a passport, and being able to apply for certain jobs.

“Equally important for the Government of Tanzania, without a functioning birth registration system there is no clear picture at any given time of the number of children by age in Tanzania,” she adds. “This is critical information for provision of basic social services.”

There are many reasons children do not get registered. Sometimes the costs are prohibitive or the birth registration services are too far away for families to access them. Sometimes families are simply unaware of how to register a birth, or of the importance of doing so.

“It’s very expensive to get a birth certificate for your child,” Ms. Constantino says. “That’s the reason why my own parents never got me one. Parents have to pay 3,500 shillings [about US$2.20] if they request it within 90 days of the birth of their child, and 4,000 shillings [about $2.75] if they request it after. Plus there’s the cost of traveling to the district government office to collect the document.”

Innovation

In 2013, the Government of Tanzania, UNICEF, and the telecommunication company Tigo, with support from VSO International, joined hands to develop and implement an innovative mobile application to register children under 5, which simplifies the process of registration, as data is entered into a mobile phone and sent via SMS to the government agency responsible for birth registration.

The application is designed to work on all mobile phones and operating systems, and only requires mobile coverage to send and receive data. July 2013 marked the roll-out of the new birth registration system in Mbeya region, using the mobile application.

“Our strategy is to integrate health services and birth registration, like at Meta Hospital where Yovina gave birth to her daughter, Gloria Celestine,” explains Noela Gabriel Itunga, Assistant Registration Officer at the Registration, Insolvency and Trusteeship Agency (RITA), the government agency partnering with UNICEF and Tigo in the initiative. “This is also a service that is provided for free. It means that only a couple of days after her daughter was born, Yovina can go home with a birth certificate in hand.”

Before the start of the new birth registration strategy in Mbeya region, there were more than 383,000 children under 5 without a birth certificate – approximately 90 per cent of under‐5s. Six months later, more than 150,000 under‐5s have been registered and issued birth certificates, representing 36 per cent of children under 5.

Following the success in Mbeya, the system is scheduled to be introduced in an additional four regions, with the aim to register more than 1 million children under 5 by 2015.

This innovation has come at a time when mobile solutions are critical to ensuring Tanzania’s next generation gets the best start in life.

“I dream that my daughter one day will be well educated and able to get a good job, like being a doctor,” says Ms. Constantino. “I know I’m giving her the best chance to do so with a birth certificate.

Sexy women who wear red lipstick are BANNED from children's TV says BBC editor

The BBC's female children’s TV presenters are banned from wearing red lipstick or looking ‘too sexy’ on air, a senior editor says.

Hosts including former Blue Peter star Helen Skelton and CBBC presenter Dionne Bromfield have been told they must be ‘fantastic female role models’ and avoid dressing in provocative outfits.

Melissa Hardinge – who is an executive editor at the corporation’s children’s channel CBBC – said programme makers are careful to protect young viewers from sexualised imagery and bad language.

Hosts including former Blue Peter star Helen Skelton and CBBC presenter Dionne Bromfield have been told they must be 'fantastic female role models'

Talking at a Bafta panel event on the future of children’s television, she revealed she takes swearing guidelines so carefully she once spent 20 minutes discussing the word ‘fart’.

She said: ‘Obviously sexualisation of girls is something we take incredibly seriously. We try and show fantastic female role models.

‘I go onto the floor of Friday Download and make them take their red lipstick off, the presenters.

‘The older end of our six to twelve age groups are very interested in relationships, and we have to show positive role models and the correct way of going about having relationships.’

 

Featuring a mixture of pop music, film news and style advice, Friday Download is an hour-long weekly show that features a panel of hosts including singer Miss Bromfield and actress Shannon Flynn, both 17.

When asked whether the BBC pays attention to what female presenters wear, Mrs Hardinge said: ‘We take that very seriously.

'We know that a lot of young girls will look at how our presenters are dressed, and no they shouldn’t look too sexy.’

She also discussed new film classifications introduced by the British board of Film Classification, which promised it would crack down on bad language and violence in U-rated films earlier this month.

‘The problem is that certain words in some families are fine, and some are not.

‘I have sat in editorial forums at the BBC where we have spent 20 minutes talking about whether the word ‘fart’ is acceptable or not. It depends on the context and whether you can use a euphemism.’

She added: ‘The portrayal of violence is a very, very sensitive thing. We have very strict editorial guidelines to try and steer the right course.

‘For anything that can be easily copied using a domestic implement, for example, we have to take our responsibility as a public service broadcaster very seriously and find the lines.’

Eric Huang, development director at digital media company Made in Me, told the audience he recalled seeing Bugs Bunny shooting Elmer Fudd repeatedly in the face as a child, in a ‘casual portrayal of violence’.

He added: ‘It was OK then, but not now. Some of it is determined by fashion and what we think is ok today.’

The pretty TV presenter who deformed herself . . . for the sake of a 'heart-shaped’ face. Korean reporter undergoes brutal jaw surgery

A South Korean woman has been accused of 'ruining her face' after 'before' and 'after' shots of her plastic surgery procedure spread online.

The unnamed woman, allegedly a reporter on a South Korean TV channel, has undergone jaw surgery in order to achieve the dainty heart-shaped face desired by many east Asian women.

The result of the procedure is an unusually pointed chin, and the reactions on a Japanese online forum did not hold back.

Before and after: The South Korean woman looks drastically different after undergoing plastic surgery

One used wrote: 'Someone please tell me this was Photoshopped!' while another quipped that 'it looks like you could plow a field with that chin,'reports.

Another asked: 'Is it really possible to taper someone’s chin that much?

'She really doesn’t know what true beauty is.'

South Korea is the world's largest market for plastic surgery, with one in five Seoul women having gone under the knife.

The most popular surgical procedures include double eyelid surgery - which reduces excess skin in the upper eyelid to make the eyes appear bigger, lipoplasty - which uses high-frequency sound waves to eliminate fat - and nose jobs.

The young woman, allegedly a reporter on a TV channel, is one of thousands of Koreans who have had surgery

While on the nonsurgical front, Botox and laser hair removal remain firm favourites, a 2012 report said.

It appears the woman in these pictures have undergone drastic jaw surgery, a high-risk operation which involves re-aligning the jaw and shaving off parts of the bone to create a 'heart shape'.

It is usually a last resort solution to correct facial deformities where people have been unable to chew properly due to an excessive over or underbite, but has become popular in South Korea.

A small face with a 'V-shaped' chin and jawline is considered a mark of feminine beauty in much of East Asia, along with a high-bridged nose and big eyes.

Bankrupt father-of-two who spent £250,000 on PC World legal battle over £1,499 laptop makes his final stand

Appeal: Richard Durkin arriving at the Supreme Court today as he battles for compensation from HFC Bank

A man who has bankrupted himself by spending £250,000 on legal fees in a 16-year court battle over a laptop today took his case to the Supreme Court in a bid to claw back the money from banking giant HSBC.

Richard Durkin, a 44-year-old father of two, claims that HFC Bank ruined his credit rating after he tried to back out of an agreement to buy a computer from PC World for £1,499.

In an earlier hearing, a court ordered the bank to pay him more than £100,000 in damages, but after that decision was reversed he has launched a new appeal at the highest court in Britain.

Mr Durkin, an offshore construction surveyor, bought the laptop from the Aberdeen branch of PC World in 1998, paying a £50 deposit and signing a £1,499 credit agreement with HFC - now part of HSBC - for the remainder.

He claims he was told he could get a refund if he had a problem with the computer, but when he complained that it did not have an inbuilt modem a manager said he could not have his money back.

Although PC World eventually relented, HFC told Mr Durkin he was obliged to carry on making payments, arguing that the credit agreement was legally unrelated to the purchase of the computer.

He was put on a credit blacklist until 2005, which he believes prevented him from buying a new home in Spain.

Mr Durkin insisted all along that the credit agreement with HFC was dependent on the purchase of the laptop, meaning that it was void as soon as he returned the computer.

In 2008, Aberdeen Sheriff Court ruled that he was entitled to cancel the agreement and awarded him damages of £116,000, but two years later the ruling was overturned at the court of session in Edinburgh.

Today Mr Durkin opened his appeal at the Supreme Court in London, which is reserved for cases 'of the greatest constitutional importance'.

Speaking before the case, Mr Durkin said it was 'too late' to give in and concede defeat in the 16-year case.

Claim: Mr Durkin has bankrupted himself thanks to the legal bills incurred in his 16-year court case

'It's too late for me to throw in the towel now, and besides, I'm a very determined chap,' he told MailOnline. 'I've spent so much on lawyers I'm bankrupt already - I might as well go bankrupt for doing the right thing.

'Until you get a credit blacklisting you have no idea how much damage it can do - it has wrecked my life. At first I thought I would just take it like a man, but a bad credit rating affects everything.  I can't do anything.

'It's no longer about the money for me - it's the principle. Why should these companies and banks be allowed to get away with treating consumers like this?'

Andrew Smith QC, representing Mr Durkin, told the Supreme Court today: 'This case is when a consumer goes into a credit or debit agreement and whether he has the right to leave that agreement.

'We have the surprising situation from the consumer's point of view that he paid for something he no longer has'.

But Lord Sumption replied: 'The credit agreement is conditional of that deal and continues to exist upon sale or transaction.

'Otherwise we have a rather strange conclusion that the price of the computer is paid by way of advance to the supplier of the goods'.

Outlining HFC Bank's case to the panel of five justices, Alistair Clark QC said: 'The creditor has advanced a sum of money on behalf of the consumer, £1,449, to the supplier.

'So the supplier has parted with the goods to the consumer who now owns the goods.

'The consumer rejects the laptop in this case and he says he has rescinded the contract. The supplier says there is no basis for that.

'The question must be what is the basis for the consumer rescinding the credit agreement?'

Lord Sumption said that Mr Durkin's credit contract with HFC Bank seemed to be dependent upon there being an ongoing sales contract with PC World, which had already been 'lawfully' terminated.

'£1,449 is paid by the creditor to the supplier towards the price of a laptop under the contract of sale', the judge said. It would seem to me on the face of it that there was a right to rescind'.

He added: 'You have lawful rescission so the money, on the face of it, has to be paid back from the supplier to the creditor who paid it. That surely is the only and inevitable conclusion'.

The panel reserved judgement on the case.

They're inseparable! Cara Delevingne enjoys another low-key night out with Michelle Rodriguez sporting trench coat and trainers

They seem to have been inseparable of late, but that didn't stop Cara Delevingne heading out in London again with Michelle Rodriguez on Monday evening.

The supermodel kept her look casual as they dined at Nobu in Park Lane, however her actress companion appeared eager to keep her face hidden from photographers.

Not content with stopping the party there, the new BFFs then went on to bar Jamboree where they reportedly partied for several hours.

We can see you! Cara Delevingne and Michelle Rodriguez enjoyed a night out together in London on Monday, when they headed to Nobu restaurant

The former Lost regular - who is well known to be bisexual - added a pair of on-trend over-the-knee boots to her look as she walked around the city.
Cara appeared to be make-up free for the evening, while wearing a pair of retro, round sunglasses which were tinted red on the lenses.
She tweeted a snap during her night out which saw her sporting a balaclava while posing with friends, writing: '#regram @jamaledwards fabric last night!!! #oldskool #photobomb'.

It must be getting serious! Barefaced Eva Longoria puts comfort first with a tracksuit as she strolls hand-in-hand with new boyfriend in Miami

Moving fast: The pair first went public with their romance in November

Eva is no doubt hoping that 2014 will see a change in luck when it comes to her dating life.

After a string of failed romances, the twice-married beauty was dealt another blow in October when ex-husband Tony Parker announced that he and his fiancée, Axelle Francine, are expecting a baby boy.

Despite having called time on their union in 2010, it still has to hit close to home seeing as the broody star - who is godmother to Victoria and David Beckham's daughter, Harper -  is yet to have any children of her own.
 They only went public with their romance in November.

But it seems Eva Longoria already feels secure in the relationship.

The 38-year-old opted for comfort with tracksuit bottoms and no make-up as she strolled hand-in-hand with her new boyfriend Jose Antonio Baston, 45, in Miami, Florida on Sunday.

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Going strong: Eva Longoria wore tracksuit bottoms as she walked hand-in-hand with boyfriend Jose Antonio Baston on Sunday in Miami

The former Real Housewives star still looked beautiful in the casual pink trousers, which she paired with a mesh white top over a white vest.

She let her natural beauty shine through by eschewing make-up, and pulled her brown hair back into a simple ponytail.

The star looked relaxed as she walked with Jose, who is the president of Televisa, the largest media company in Latin America.

Sienna Miller on how she is grateful for a second shot in Hollywood Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2547503/Sienna-Miller-admits-fame-came-soon-opens-life-public-eye.html#ixzz2rjQd0hla Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Sienna Miller says she was unprepared for the attention she received after winning overnight fame as Daniel Craig’s love interest in Layer Cake.
The actress survived on a steady diet of low budget independent films before scoring her first prominent role in the British gangster movie in 2004.
But while it proved to be a springboard to international fame, she tells the March issue of the UK edition of Esquire that she wasn’t ready for the intense glare of the media spotlight.
She said: ‘I was really naive, I think. I was a young 21. Not green as grass – I was by no means an innocent – but I had faith in the goodness of everyone.
'I was very open. And that led me into all sorts of situations that backfired.’

Opening up: Sienna Miller has been talking to the March issue of Esquire magazine

Early success led to opportunities in Hollywood, where her willowy good looks helped win her a role as former fashion model Edie Sedgwick in 2006 biopic Factory Girl.
Prominence in the US would later play a useful part in Sienna’s life when her ‘bad behaviour’ almost derailed her career.

She said: ‘It had become difficult for me to get the work I wanted, if I’m really honest. It was a weird situation to be in because there was a lot of goodwill for me in Hollywood.
‘I think I’d been lucky in that I’d always been naughty in that town and people had always liked me for it. (But) I sabotaged things. I burnt a lot of bridges. I never read a review or paid any mind to what anyone said.

Instant fame: Sienna enjoyed overnight success, but admits her 'wild ways' almost derailed her career

‘And that translated to how I behaved outside work. On set, I was first to arrive, last to leave, best friends with the crew, totally professional, no d***ing around.
'But when I wasn’t at work, I wasn’t behaving the way you should. I’m very lucky to have a second chance in that town.’
Sienna would later take a self-imposed three-year hiatus from the film industry – during which her tumultuous relationship with Jude Law came to an end – and she admits the lengthy break was a therapeutic measure.

Instant fame: Sienna says she was unprepared for the media spotlight after appearing alongside Daniel Craig in 2004 gangster film Layer Cake

Check out the full Sienna Miller interview in the Esquire March issue - on sale Thursday 30 January

‘I felt like I had no control over any aspect of my life, professionally or personally. So I deliberately disappeared,’ she said.

‘I was sick of myself, to be honest, or sick of that perception of me. It all felt so f***ing dirty.’

Sienna’s personal life has been forced into the public arena at the Leveson Inquiry, where phone hacking trials have heard claims of an intimate message left by the actress on Layer Cake co-star Craig's phone - and a sarcastic voicemail to the James Bond star from Jude Law.

‘It’s so personal, it’s such a raw nerve, it had such a massive effect on me, on my life and career, that I don’t know what would come out of it except I will kind of vent, in a fury,’ she said.

‘Believe me, there is a torrent of abuse I would love to hurl at half of their faces. But there are more eloquent people. I don’t trust myself. I’m too volatile.’

The actress returned to film in 2012, bolstered by her current relationship with actor Tom Sturridge, who she started dating shortly after her split with Law, and the birth of their first child, daughter Marlowe.
‘I feel really settled,’ she said. ‘I have a wonderful life. I’m up every morning with a little baby.
‘That gives you incredible perspective. It’s such a gift. And it’s grounding in a way you can’t describe. And going back to work is really exciting and fun.’
Of soulmate Tom, she said: ‘He’s the antithesis of me, really. And that’s a first for me, to be in a relationship with someone who’s in a lot of respects very different.
‘He’s the perfect balance to my lunacy, which makes him sound really boring but he’s not, at all. It’s good, it works.’

Formula One mogul Eddie Jordan spends $50MILLION on a new 155ft super yacht

A brand new superyacht has been unveiled to the world for the first time ahead of being delivered to its new owner - Formula One mogul Eddie Jordan.

The Sunseeker 155 has been under development for 18 months, and will cost a total of £32million when it is finally completed.

This week it was taken out of the shed in Poole, Dorset where it is being built, as it is now too large to be housed in the hangar.

Unveiled: The Sunseeker 155 superyacht, commissioned by Eddie Jordan, has been unveiled to the public

Under construction: The boat has been moved out of the shed where it was built because it is now too large

It was transported at a glacial place by a radio-controlled unit as it was manoeuvred out of the shed with just a few inches to spare.

The four-deck yacht includes five bedrooms, enabling Mr Jordan to host up to 10 guests at once, while the boat also has space for 11 members of staff.

Other perks include a nightclub, day room, 'beach club' and a panoramic viewing platform - which could allow guests a perfect view of the Monaco Grand Prix if Mr Jordan decides to attend the society event.

The yacht is 155ft long and weighs a total of 200 tonnes, with a maximum speed of 22 knots (25mph), and can travel 4,000 nautical miles in a single journey.

New owner: Eddie Jordan, pictured with Jenson Button, is paying £32million for the Sunseeker 155

Emerging: The yacht was taken out of the shed on a radio-controlled system

Plans: These floor plans show the layout of the yacht, which includes five guest bedrooms and a nightclub

Sunseeker International, the company building the boat, expects to be able to begin testing it on the water next month, before delivering it to Mr Jordan in the spring.

But even after the businessman has taken delivery of his new pride and joy, handing over £32million in the process, the Sunseeker 155 will not come cheap.

Filling up the boat's 60,000-litre engine with diesel will cost £30,000 every time.

Despite the gigantic scale of the Sunseeker 155, it is still very far from the record for the biggest yacht in the world - the Azzam, completed last year, measures almost 600ft.

Vast: However, the 155ft yacht is still some way off the world record, which stands at a staggering 600ft

Stewart McIntyre, managing director at Sunseeker International, said: 'This is an extremely exciting time for Sunseeker as we inch ever closer to the completion of the 155 Yacht.

'This is the biggest project we have ever undertaken and since the announcement of its build it has been the talk of the industry.

'We are incredibly proud of what we have created and look forward to showcasing it to the world.'

Mr Jordan, who commissioned the yacht, grew up in Ireland and ran a number of racing teams before setting up Jordan Grand Prix, whose drivers included Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill.

After the team shut down in 2005, the 65-year-old became a racing commentator for the BBC.

WHO RULES THE WAVES WITH THE BIGGEST SUPERYACHTS

Last year it was revealed that the Emirati royal family own the world's biggest mega-yacht, knocking Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich's off the top spot.

The Chelsea owner's vessel Eclipse had been the world's biggest yacht for the past three years, but it was usurped by the 590ft Azzam, which Yachts France revealed belongs to Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nayan, President of the United Arab Emirates and Emir of Abu Dhabi and is worth £390million.

The yacht requires a staff of 50, and interior features include a 29ft salon and a stunning, open-plan interior.

Abramovich's Eclipse, valued at £740million, features an armour-plated master suite, two swimming pools, two helipads, a hall, a cinema, a mini-submarine and even its own missile defence system.

It had in turn taken the title of world's biggest private yacht from the 454ft Rising Sun, owned by American businessman Larry Ellison, which topped the 414ft Octopus, owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.

Of the top 100 yachts featured in the Yachts France mega yacht league table, 31 were owned by people from the Middle East, 19 were Russian owned, and 17 belonged to Americans.

Formula One mogul Eddie Jordan spends $50MILLION on a new 155ft super yacht

A brand new superyacht has been unveiled to the world for the first time ahead of being delivered to its new owner - Formula One mogul Eddie Jordan.

The Sunseeker 155 has been under development for 18 months, and will cost a total of £32million when it is finally completed.

This week it was taken out of the shed in Poole, Dorset where it is being built, as it is now too large to be housed in the hangar.

Unveiled: The Sunseeker 155 superyacht, commissioned by Eddie Jordan, has been unveiled to the public

Under construction: The boat has been moved out of the shed where it was built because it is now too large

It was transported at a glacial place by a radio-controlled unit as it was manoeuvred out of the shed with just a few inches to spare.

The four-deck yacht includes five bedrooms, enabling Mr Jordan to host up to 10 guests at once, while the boat also has space for 11 members of staff.

Other perks include a nightclub, day room, 'beach club' and a panoramic viewing platform - which could allow guests a perfect view of the Monaco Grand Prix if Mr Jordan decides to attend the society event.

The yacht is 155ft long and weighs a total of 200 tonnes, with a maximum speed of 22 knots (25mph), and can travel 4,000 nautical miles in a single journey.

New owner: Eddie Jordan, pictured with Jenson Button, is paying £32million for the Sunseeker 155

Emerging: The yacht was taken out of the shed on a radio-controlled system

Plans: These floor plans show the layout of the yacht, which includes five guest bedrooms and a nightclub

Sunseeker International, the company building the boat, expects to be able to begin testing it on the water next month, before delivering it to Mr Jordan in the spring.

But even after the businessman has taken delivery of his new pride and joy, handing over £32million in the process, the Sunseeker 155 will not come cheap.

Filling up the boat's 60,000-litre engine with diesel will cost £30,000 every time.

Despite the gigantic scale of the Sunseeker 155, it is still very far from the record for the biggest yacht in the world - the Azzam, completed last year, measures almost 600ft.

Vast: However, the 155ft yacht is still some way off the world record, which stands at a staggering 600ft

Stewart McIntyre, managing director at Sunseeker International, said: 'This is an extremely exciting time for Sunseeker as we inch ever closer to the completion of the 155 Yacht.

'This is the biggest project we have ever undertaken and since the announcement of its build it has been the talk of the industry.

'We are incredibly proud of what we have created and look forward to showcasing it to the world.'

Mr Jordan, who commissioned the yacht, grew up in Ireland and ran a number of racing teams before setting up Jordan Grand Prix, whose drivers included Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill.

After the team shut down in 2005, the 65-year-old became a racing commentator for the BBC.

WHO RULES THE WAVES WITH THE BIGGEST SUPERYACHTS

Last year it was revealed that the Emirati royal family own the world's biggest mega-yacht, knocking Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich's off the top spot.

The Chelsea owner's vessel Eclipse had been the world's biggest yacht for the past three years, but it was usurped by the 590ft Azzam, which Yachts France revealed belongs to Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nayan, President of the United Arab Emirates and Emir of Abu Dhabi and is worth £390million.

The yacht requires a staff of 50, and interior features include a 29ft salon and a stunning, open-plan interior.

Abramovich's Eclipse, valued at £740million, features an armour-plated master suite, two swimming pools, two helipads, a hall, a cinema, a mini-submarine and even its own missile defence system.

It had in turn taken the title of world's biggest private yacht from the 454ft Rising Sun, owned by American businessman Larry Ellison, which topped the 414ft Octopus, owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.

Of the top 100 yachts featured in the Yachts France mega yacht league table, 31 were owned by people from the Middle East, 19 were Russian owned, and 17 belonged to Americans.