DESPERATE FOR A THIGH GAP I STARVED MYSELF TO 5ST 8LB

When personal trainer, Victoria Spence dreamt of achieving a ‘thigh gap’, she didn'’t realise her obsession would leave her body gripped by anorexia. In a quest for bone-thin thighs, at her worst, the 20-year-old survived on just 600 calories a day - excessively exercising for over 10 hours a day. By January last year, she weighed a dangerous 5st 8lb - and medics told her unless she started eating more, she would be hospitalised. Care-free and body confident at 16, the pretty blonde from Worsley, Manchester, had always been happy with the way she looked. Standing at 5ft 6in tall, Victoria weighed a healthy 8st 5lb.

Other great stories
HIDDEN HIMALAYAN FESTIVAL

A quiet Himalayan mountain village springs to life for a colourful Buddhist festival designed to expel evil spirits and bring happiness .

BABY BEARS COPY FIGHTING ADULTS

SITTING quietly at the edge of the lake, these two baby bears watch and learn as the adults hunt for fish .

THE GREAT ESCAPE

Staring death in the face, a little field mouse bravely confronts a hungry cat .

BIKINI SWIM WITH JELLYFISH

A BIKINI swim with jellyfish sounds like the most painful past-time on the planet .

GIRAFFES DUCK FOR COVER

DIPPING and diving their way through this bumpy journey, these giraffe's duck for cover as they dodge multiple cables and wires .

CUDDLY TRAVEL BUNNY IS STOLEN AFTER JOURNEY AROUND THE WORLD

An intrepid explorer hopes to be reunited with his travel partner, after his cuddly toy companion was stolen .

NEW DELHI CHILD RAPE PROTESTS

NEW DELHI, A woman activist of India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party crosses a police barricade near the residence of ruling Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi during a protest against the recent rape of a five-year-old girl in New Delhi, India, April 21, 2013 .

MINI-CANE GUIDES BLIND LEXI

A BLIND school-girl whose growth has been stunted by a rare medical condition is finding her feet again with the help of a specially made mini-cane .

MIRACLE MAN SURVIVES 13,000ft FALL WHEN PARACHUTE FAILS

A skydiver cheated death after plunging 13,000 feet without his parachute opening but survived after landing in a bog .

8-YEAR-OLD GIRL ALLERGIC TO THE COLD  

A young girl has been forced to stay indoors this winter because a rare allergy to the cold could kill her .

WOMB STROKE SURVIVOR AMAZES DOCS BY TAKING FIRST STEPS

WOMB STROKE SURVIVOR AMAZES DOCS BY TAKING FIRST STEPS - A little girl who suffered a catastrophic stroke in the womb which would have killed an adult has stunned the medical world by learning to walk, talk and see .

HYPNOTIST JAILED FOR SEX ABUSE

A hypnotherapist filmed himself sexually abusing a 19-year-old patient while she was in a trance-like state .