Pinning a purple flower into her bleach blonde hair, pretty Ava admired herself in the mirror. She had every reason to be proud. In the space of a year, she had lost an incredible 17 stone. Her weight dropped from 37st 1lbs to 19st 7lbs, and she slipped into a dress before gazing at her newly svelte figure. With her smokey eye makeup and black skater dress, she could have been glamming up for a night on the tiles with her girlfriends. Instead, it was Halloween, 2013, and Ava was hiding a huge secret. Born a boy named William, it was the first time she had ever dressed as a girl – and everything fell into place.
A kingfisher’s bright blue and orange feathers glisten in the sunlight as the bird dives into a lake .
A teacher has told how she was attacked by a murderer on her way home from a night out but courageously managed to charm him out of strangling her .
Thousands of people are gathering at a stadium in Johannesburg for a memorial service for Nelson Mandela .
Oscar Pistorius entered a courtroom Monday for the start of his murder trial, walking past the victim's mother who says she came to court so she can ‘really look him in the eyes .
Vikki Jose, 26 loves nothing more than lavishing gifts on her loved ones at Christmas time .
What lies beneath this building site? Britain's great hope of winning the pre-WW2 arms race against Nazi Germany .
The family of a disabled boy who died in a tragic accident at a care home have received a four figure payout after an inquest heard carers allowed him to fall rather than restrain him because of "health and safety" fears .
A mum has warned of the dangers of child eating disorders, after her 10-year-old daughter developed anorexia when school bullies branded her ‘FAT’ .
Gabrielle Dale, 26, was subjected to seven years of coercive control and physical abuse at the hands of her violent boyfriend Sean Owen, 29 .
WITHOUT a care in the world, this little chimpanzee shows off her gymnastic skills as she swings around her enclosure .
Heart pounding, Rebecca Cain jumped as a car door slammed on the street outside .
IN a galaxy not so far away lies a magical display of lights that could be the latest image from NASA .