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.
HEART-MELTING shots of a French bulldog and a ten-month-old French baby could be the cutest you’re likely to see .
A DETERMINED great blue heron holds on tightly to its prey as the furry gopher attempts to wriggle free .
ARM extended and head flung back, this little chipmunk performs a loose-limbed yoga move .
MOUTH OPEN wide, this little stoat appears to be in mid-song as he belts out a tune for his onlookers .
DIVING boffins fired harpoons into 30-foot-long whale sharks in a bid to put the sea-beasts on Google Maps .
THIS may look like a dolphin through jumping hoops, but it is in fact nothing more than a clever 3D pencil drawing .
A BABY-faced burglar is starting a seven year stretch in custody after being nabbed by a Jaffa Cake .
SITTING on a burning sofa unable to move, one man turns his terrifying dreams into reality .
A brave praying mantis makes an unusual friend in an Oriental garden lizard .
A Brit photographer has captured one of the world's most camera-shy species of fish - during a game of underwater peek-a-boo .
ROLLING up snow in its tiny paws, this little squirrel is looking for a snowball fight .
Southern England, the south-west and west Wales have been warned to expect more wild weather, with heavy rain and high tides possibly leading to coastal flooding and travel disruption over the weekend .