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.
Surveying its surroundings, a tiny harvest mouse climbs the stem of a dandelion .
AN ADORABLE one-eyed kitten has been dubbed the 'pirate cat' because of his pirate-like facial expressions .
BALANCING 30 metres above ground, these slackliners take the expression of living dangerously one step further, by tightrope walking NAKED .
A ROAD KILL munching Scot has chewed on everything from a dead squirrel to an unlucky crow – all in the name of art .
Enjoying life’s little pleasures is something that many struggle to do .
WELCOME to the 125 decibel boombox bus that could damage your hearing if you party too close to its giant speakers .
SPARKLING bright inside their box, it’s hard to believe these diamonds are made from the cremated remains of the deceased .
PUCKERING up and enjoying some quality time, these are the most lovable monkeys on the planet .
AN OLD ENGLISH cottage packed full of history and valuables has been left to rot .
PERCHING on top of a gate, this young barn swallow waits patiently for his mum to return with dinner .
AT first glance these images could easily be mistaken for photographs, but they are in-fact real life drawings created using nothing but coloured pencils .