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.
These adorable pictures show the moment two cuddly red panda cubs take their first look at the outside world and are weighed for the very first time .
In the calm waters of Greenland, gigantic icebergs dwarf everything around them .
A trout manages to escape the jaws of a hungry cormorant - only to find itself back inside the bird's long beak .
A rare manuscript of one of Charlotte Bronte’s earliest poems went under the hammer today and fetched nearly £100,000 – double what it was expected to get .
LIFTING their heads high and bumping beaks, these aggressive pelicans clash over fish .
This was the chaotic scene when the driver of a 4x4 vehicle became periously trapped under his vehicle for an HOUR when it overturned after a crash on a busy motorway .
Primed and ready for action, this collection of striking images from the battlefield could be mistaken for authentic photos taking during World War II .
COURAGEOUS climbers descend 400 metres as they manoeuvre their way through thick walls of ice .
Swimming side by side with divers, these manatees will do anything they can to stay warm .
SPLASHING in the water and fighting in-between rocks, these energetic tigers enjoy their fun-filled morning .
A British photographer has captured the beauty of London in a stunning series of landscapes shots .
HUDDLED together in the hollow of a tree, it would be easy to overlook these two sleepy owls as they blend into the trunk .