TEEN WITH 100s OF BIRTHMARKS BEATS BULLIES TO EMBRACE BEAUTY

A teenage girl nicknamed 'spotty dog' by school bullies has embraced the hundreds of birthmarks that cover her entire face and body. 19-year-old Ciera Swaringen, of Rockwell, North Carolina, USA was born with mole-like birthmarks that spread from her head to her toes. Ciera's rare skin condition affects just one in 500,000 people and covers 70 percent of her body - with the largest mark stretching from her lower thighs to her navel. Since a child, the pretty teen has endured cruel taunts from strangers, but has now grown to love her unique appearance. She says: “Teenage boys are usually the first ones to comment when they see me. “They say things like, ‘You look like you’re dirty, take a wash.’

Other great stories
LAST MILITARY HOSPITAL TIME CAPSULE

INSIDE Britain's last Naval hospital where scurvy was cured looks like an NHS time capsule .

CEMETERY FINES

A COUNCIL has come under fire for slapping fines on people’s GRAVESTONES for breaching petty regulations on pot plants .

TUNNELS OF WAVES

With blue waves tumbling over them, these surfers glide underneath a tunnel of water .

TOY CAR ADVENTURES

These images of vintage cars, bikes and vans, pictured all over the world, could easily have come from a globetrotting petrol-head’s photo album .

ABANDONED WILD WEST THEME PARK

The gunslingers are long gone and tumbleweeds have taken over at this abandoned American Wild West Theme Park in Cornwall .

MESMERISING FIELD PATTERNS

FULL OF STUNNING colours and swirling shapes, the furrows on these fields create a mix of mesmerising patterns .

FISH TSUNAMI

A TSUNAMI of predatory fish gather for their annual hunt .

INTIMATE PORTRAITS OF AFRICAN TRIBES

A German photographer travelled around Africa where he met and photographed members of tribes in a series of intimate portraits .

HUNGRY HIPPO MISSES OUT ON LUNCH

A hungry hippo is seconds away from catching a bird in its gigantic jaws .

10 YEAR OLD GIRL REINVENTS HER IDENTITY THROUGH COSPLAY

From foster care to the MAGICAL world of cosplay, a young girl’s dreams become reality after being adopted by a photography loving couple .

SHOCKING CCTV OF WOMEN AND CHILD HIT AND RUN

THIS astonishing film shows the moment a hit-and-run driver ploughed into a woman and a toddler on a Coventry street .

CHEEKY BABY GORILLA

THIS cheeky gorilla tries his best to wriggle free from his mum .