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.
SHOVELLING food into his mouth, this hungry gorilla enjoys a peaceful moment at dinner time .
Gabrielle Dale, 26, was subjected to seven years of coercive control and physical abuse at the hands of her violent boyfriend Sean Owen, 29 .
An American woman whose skin turned silver after using nose drops is warning people of the dangers of medicines containing the metal .
A Romanian woman is celebrating her new job as a knife-thrower’s assistant after leaving her family behind to move to the UK .
LOCATIONS bursting with vibrant greens and chestnut browns, these photographs capture the peaceful English countryside in all its glory .
A brave praying mantis makes an unusual friend in an Oriental garden lizard .
WRAPPED up in classy headscarves, these adorable pooches are the picture of sophistication .
VIBRANT bursts of colour fill the screen as beautiful flowers blossom in these time-lapse videos .
A host of websites that are almost twenty years old are collecting a cult following thanks to their retro appeal .
A family who were refused the location of their missing cat under the Data Protection Act have been reunited with their moggie after the keepers handed him back .
SLEEPING within touching distance of wild African animals might not be everyone's idea of a relaxing break .
ALL IS not as it seems in these deceptive cityscapes .