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.
FISTS fly as two gorillas take each other on in a dramatic battle .
WRAPPED up in classy headscarves, these adorable pooches are the picture of sophistication .
Armed with a snorkel, flippers and her skimpy bikini, an intrepid female free diver swims alongside an array of reef sharks .
A BLIND man was battered with a brick in a sickening attack by two thugs .
This cheeky macaque gets up close and personal as he examines the dental hygiene of his fellow primate .
A little caterpillar fearlessly scampers down a branch and confronts a praying mantis .
WITH his spiked ears and yellow and blue body, a colourful monkey bears an uncanny resemblance to Marvel Comics’ Wolverine .
BALANCING on top of a tree, this bear cub puts her climbing skills to the test .
BEAUTIFULLY lit by the dim glow of lanterns, a cave in Iceland is transformed into the perfect wedding venue .
A curious red squirrel takes a break from collecting nuts and tries her hand at photography .
With an abandoned tricycle sitting in an empty corridor, this derelict but once grand mansion could be the setting for The Shining .
A blanket of fog is lit up by the colourful glowing lights of the city below .