TEEN WITH 100s OF BIRTHMARKS BEATS BULLIES TO EMBRACE BEAUTY

A teenage girl nicknamed 'spotty dog' by school bullies has embraced the hundreds of birthmarks that cover her entire face and body. 19-year-old Ciera Swaringen, of Rockwell, North Carolina, USA was born with mole-like birthmarks that spread from her head to her toes. Ciera's rare skin condition affects just one in 500,000 people and covers 70 percent of her body - with the largest mark stretching from her lower thighs to her navel. Since a child, the pretty teen has endured cruel taunts from strangers, but has now grown to love her unique appearance. She says: “Teenage boys are usually the first ones to comment when they see me. “They say things like, ‘You look like you’re dirty, take a wash.’

Other great stories
STAR-TI-LING: 40,000 STARLINGS MIMIC HITCHCOCK'S THE BIRDS

STAR-TI-LING: 40,000 STARLINGS MIMIC HITCHCOCK'S THE BIRDS- This could be the fearsome scene from Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds as a flock of 40,000 starlings bask in the heat of a wonderful British sunset .

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE BUG KIND

THIS alien-like bug would look more at home in outer-space but it can actually be found wriggling around here on Earth .

LITTLE OWL WINKS FOR THE CAMERA

A Little owl looks down the lens of a camera and gives the photographer a cheeky wink .

COUPLE RECREATE ICONIC SCENES FROM THE NOTEBOOK

A Canadian couple celebrated their engagement by recreating iconic moments from the film The Notebook .

SLEEP DISORDER WOMAN COLLAPSES EVERY TIME SHE LAUGHS

A woman with a rare condition that means she collapses every time she laughs fears she may have passed the rare illness onto her young son .

LIQUID SCULPTURES

A BEAUTIFUL sight for the eyes and the imagination, these liquid sculptures take shape in many different colours and formations .

I LOST 10ST AFTER GIVING UP 1,000 CHOC BAR A YEAR HABIT

A former chocolate addict, who used to gobble more than a THOUSAND bars a year, has shed an astonishing 10st after giving up her favourite treats .

ROMANIAN CELEBRATES NEW JOB AS KNIFE THROWER'S ASSISTANT

A Romanian woman is celebrating her new job as a knife-thrower’s assistant after leaving her family behind to move to the UK .

MUM REVEALS PREGNANCY ALLERGY

A first-time mum has told how she was allergic to her unborn baby after she developed an angry red rash all over her body .

MINI BONZAI MODELS - TREE-MENDOUS

These are the fascinating pictures of miniature table sculptures molded around bonsai trees that take up to a painstaking 18 months to create .

WHEELCHAIR BASEJUMPER

THROWING himself off 1,100ft bridges in a wheelchair, this is the PARALYSED base jumper who knows no fear .