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.
Southern England, the south-west and west Wales have been warned to expect more wild weather, with heavy rain and high tides possibly leading to coastal flooding and travel disruption over the weekend .
A disabled sheep is enjoying a new fleece of life after receiving a specially-designed wheelchair .
MASKED intruders look sinister but really they are a gang of urban exploring pranksters .
A DETERMINED great blue heron holds on tightly to its prey as the furry gopher attempts to wriggle free .
STARING open-mouthed into the camera, this shocked fish looks out of place in the middle of its angry friends .
ESCAPING A LANDFILL FUTURE, these amazing science fiction inspired sculptures are made from everyday objects .
Playing, splashing and generally messing around, these polar bears show they certainly have a soft spot for the water, and not just each other .
This cheeky macaque gets up close and personal as he examines the dental hygiene of his fellow primate .
TUGGING on the wing of his sibling, this needy owl is after some attention .
ROLLING up snow in its tiny paws, this little squirrel is looking for a snowball fight .
THIS is the EXPLOSIVE moment when a 50 metre high pylon came crashing down to earth in a rural field .
