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.
A diver attempts to control rising numbers of lionfish by feeding the venomous species to Caribbean reef sharks .
PICKING up a tiny tea-pot with its paws, a little red squirrel struggles to prepare its morning tea .
THIS incredible shimmer of silver fish mirrors the image of that of an underwater tornado .
SWIMMING next to 40 tonne whales, dare-devil divers take the plunge with these gentle giants of the sea .
A couple have tied the knot in a spectacular Harry Potter-themed wedding which cost £45,000 .
PEACE and love filled the 1980’s Glastonbury fields as relaxed festival goers kicked back and soaked up the atmosphere .
A HEIGHT-addicted airline pilot has taken pictures of the Dubai from 1,300-feet .
A lazy tree frog, tired of hopping along a branch, chooses the slowest form of transport when it jumps on top of an unsuspecting snail .
Some will get up close and personal with Mother Nature’s deadliest animals to get the perfect shot, posing the question, what lengths will a photographer go to for that all important picture? But in this case, the question should be what depths .
FROM a Kung-Fu professional to a mini incredible hulk, these are the babies you wouldn't want to mess with .
LINED up one by one on a deer’s back, these little birds give their wings a break as they catch a ride across London .