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.
MESMERIZING night sky photographs offer a spellbinding look at the stars .
SNUGGLED up in the hay away from the elements, this adorable hoglet has sought solace with a familiar friend .
ROLLING across a 65-metre-high viaduct in the Alps, the red carriages of the Bernina Express add a splash of colour to the spectacular snow-covered Swiss surroundings .
WEARING tiny Christmas accessories, these adorable babies get into the spirit of the season .
A kingfisher’s bright blue and orange feathers glisten in the sunlight as the bird dives into a lake .
HUDDLING under a leaf, a pair of adorable Javan scops owls take shelter from the rain .
WITH their robotic movements and pristine uniforms, these are the sexy traffic girls of North Korea that are becoming iconic figures in the secretive state .
LIKE SUPERMAN carrying a slimy Lois Lane through the air this frog is treating its mate to a flying lesson .
This is the amazing moment two white-tailed kites take an in-flight meal - exchanging prey at 100 foot high in mid air .
FULL OF STUNNING colours and swirling shapes, the furrows on these fields create a mix of mesmerising patterns .
LEAF-ing much to the imagination, this camera trickery is blooming marvellous .
A trio of ants are locked in a tug of war over a fly as they pull the bug by its legs .