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.
LUMINOUS green rocks could easily be a beach from Superman's homeland of Krypton .
WITH A STERN look of determination on their faces, these adorable pooches perfect their doggy paddle as they dive head first into a swimming pool .
A BLIND man was battered with a brick in a sickening attack by two thugs .
A mischievous fox cub demonstrates his playful side by biting his sibling’s tail .
WITH A wide smile plastered across his face, this little gecko is ready for his close up .
WELCOME to the Temple of Zoom where you can “experience” sliding down a Mayan temple into shark infested waters .
Leaping out of the ocean, a group of gentoo penguins fly through the air before landing safely on an iceberg .
SHOWING off her best assets for the camera, this cheeky orangutan is in the mood for love, puckering up her lips to blow the biggest kiss she can .
A curious red squirrel takes a break from collecting nuts and tries her hand at photography .
A grey whale and her calf greet an audience of awestruck admirers on the Pacific coast of Baja California Sur, Mexico .
A family of foster carers are facing bankruptcy and homelessness after they signed up to a Government scheme to renovate their house to be used for disabled children's short breaks .
Families in an Indian slum put their lives on the line by living on top of an ACTIVE railway track .