She is about to start driving and soon will be able to legally buy alcohol and get married, but Poppy Webb-Jones still looks and thinks like a ten-year-old girl. Unlike other 17-year-olds, Poppy is more interested in Hannah Montana and Justin Bieber than wearing make-up, experimenting with boys or staying out late. This is due to a rare condition which means she was born without any hormones, meaning she has never gone through puberty, never had a growth spurt and never thrown a teenage tantrum. To many parents of teenagers, Poppy must sound like the perfect child, but unbeknown to her or her mother Karen Webb-Meek, her condition posed a deadly risk to her health throughout her whole childhood. Poppy was born with a condition called panhypopituitarism meaning she lacks most of the hormones essential for life. Hypopituitarism is the decreased secretion of one or more of the eight hormones normally produced by the pituitary gland at the base of the brain. If there is decreased secretion of most pituitary hormones, the term panhypopituitarism (pan meaning "all") is used. Poppy has no growth hormone, meaning her bones stopped growing around the age of 11, and she has no thyroxine, which regulates the metabolism and energy levels. In addition she has no oestrogen, which controls the onset of puberty and the development of secondary sexual characteristics.
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 .
A kingfisher’s bright blue and orange feathers glisten in the sunlight as the bird dives into a lake .
A disabled sheep is enjoying a new fleece of life after receiving a specially-designed wheelchair .
TOMORROW (Saturday) marks the 28th anniversary of the nuclear disaster that left the city of Chernobyl devastated .
A hypnotherapist filmed himself sexually abusing a 19-year-old patient while she was in a trance-like state .
RACING through the mountain range on horseback, the Kazakh people practice their ancient tradition of hunting with golden eagles .
A little caterpillar fearlessly scampers down a branch and confronts a praying mantis .
The view from this rooftop pool is sure to make most holidaymakers envious .
THIS astonishing film shows the moment a hit-and-run driver ploughed into a woman and a toddler on a Coventry street .
FROM a HOLLYWOOD actress to the face of an innocent child, these are incredible drawings with an unlikely twist .
A panic stricken kitten that got her head stuck in a car tyre has been freed by quick thinking RSPCA staff .
EXPERTLY camouflaged, this clever panther chameleon knows how to catch its prey by surprise .