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.
An elegant snowy owl spreads her wings and glides effortlessly above the snow covered field .
A Brit photographer has captured one of the world's most camera-shy species of fish - during a game of underwater peek-a-boo .
GLIDING through the water, these delightful frogs show off their vibrant colours as they practice their FROG crawl .
A family of foster carers are facing bankruptcy and homelessness after they signed up to a Government scheme to renovate their house to be used for disabled children's short breaks .
The view from this rooftop pool is sure to make most holidaymakers envious .
It's incredible to think anyone could live in such horrendous squalor - yet two men have been prosecuted for keeping their homes in such revolting conditions that it was no longer fit for their animals .
SITTING on a burning sofa unable to move, one man turns his terrifying dreams into reality .
This frozen lighthouse in Michigan could easily be mistaken for a still from the snow swept disaster movie The Day After Tomorrow .
A young orangutan comes over all shy as she hides her face behind a broken bucket .
While often referred to as the kings of the jungle, gorillas - for all their might - are notorious hydrophobes .
A grey whale and her calf greet an audience of awestruck admirers on the Pacific coast of Baja California Sur, Mexico .
WELCOME to what could be the world's tallest TOTALLY wooden construction .