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.
ARMED with her camera, bikini and flippers, this brave diver goes swimming with SHARKS .
ARM extended and head flung back, this little chipmunk performs a loose-limbed yoga move .
An Italian photographer travelled to the highlands of New Guinea where he met an Indonesian tribe untouched by the modern world .
A German photographer travelled around Africa where he met and photographed members of tribes in a series of intimate portraits .
THIS may look like a dolphin through jumping hoops, but it is in fact nothing more than a clever 3D pencil drawing .
MAKING himself at home, this little snail perches happily on top of this frog's head .
LEAPING through the air this determined little mouse is on a mission for food .
With an abandoned tricycle sitting in an empty corridor, this derelict but once grand mansion could be the setting for The Shining .
A DETERMINED great blue heron holds on tightly to its prey as the furry gopher attempts to wriggle free .
STOOD side by side next to a busy road, these buildings were once bustling with life .
RESTING his weary head on his flipper, this little seal pup takes a much needed nap after an afternoon of strenuous yoga .
Struggling home entertainment chain Blockbuster has been slammed for advertising its workers' jobs while they are still in them in order to scare them into working harder .