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.
THROWING himself off 1,100ft bridges in a wheelchair, this is the PARALYSED base jumper who knows no fear .
HUDDLED together on a branch, a pair of adorable Javan scops owls soak up the sun .
CAUSING a splash, this determined kingfisher goes hunting for dinner .
A host of websites that are almost twenty years old are collecting a cult following thanks to their retro appeal .
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 .
LIKE SUPERMAN carrying a slimy Lois Lane through the air this frog is treating its mate to a flying lesson .
SWIMMING next to 40 tonne whales, dare-devil divers take the plunge with these gentle giants of the sea .
Here's a collection of art for the DIGIT-AL age as these fascinating illusions of landmarks, places and even a banana are made using just a pair of hands .
An Australian explorer has travelled the globe with a toy pig, known as Travel Piggy, in search of a missing cuddly companion .
FROM KISSING an alligator on the nose to walking over broken glass, this fearless daredevil is a real life female JACKASS .
A Romanian photographer has captured the unique patterns of hundreds of human eyes in a series of striking macro shots .