Pinning a purple flower into her bleach blonde hair, pretty Ava admired herself in the mirror. She had every reason to be proud. In the space of a year, she had lost an incredible 17 stone. Her weight dropped from 37st 1lbs to 19st 7lbs, and she slipped into a dress before gazing at her newly svelte figure. With her smokey eye makeup and black skater dress, she could have been glamming up for a night on the tiles with her girlfriends. Instead, it was Halloween, 2013, and Ava was hiding a huge secret. Born a boy named William, it was the first time she had ever dressed as a girl – and everything fell into place.
SWIMMING next to 40 tonne whales, dare-devil divers take the plunge with these gentle giants of the sea .
SWIMMING slowly towards the shore, a small group of bottlenose dolphins arrive for breakfast at a beach in Western Australia .
What lies beneath this building site? Britain's great hope of winning the pre-WW2 arms race against Nazi Germany .
A SPECTRUM of colours fills the sky during this spectacular and natural display of light .
A brave praying mantis makes an unusual friend in an Oriental garden lizard .
From foster care to the MAGICAL world of cosplay, a young girl’s dreams become reality after being adopted by a photography loving couple .
A project to create an underwater tribute to the stone Moai statues of Easter Island ended in disaster when 15 replica structures were destroyed after toppling from a boat and into the sea .
ROLLING around in the snow, these young brown bears take a break from their play fight to share a tender hug with one another .
Ever wished you could live in a house just like Barbie's? Canadian sculptor Heather Benning has created the life-size dollhouse of her dreams out a derelict building .
FROM a Kung-Fu professional to a mini incredible hulk, these are the babies you wouldn't want to mess with .
IN THE not so MISTY MOUNTAINS of Wiltshire, there lies an abandoned hobbit house .
THIS alien-like bug would look more at home in outer-space but it can actually be found wriggling around here on Earth .