I LOST HALF MY WEIGHT AND BECAME A WOMAN

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.

Other great stories
HOUNDTON TABBY

FROM MRS Patmore to Lady Sybil, these barking mad illustrations show the WOOF-er side of some of our most loved Downton characters .

MAN AND TOY PIG SEARCH WORLD FOR MISSING CUDDLY COMPANION

An Australian explorer has travelled the globe with a toy pig, known as Travel Piggy, in search of a missing cuddly companion .

BUBBLE BLOWING BEAR

BLOWING bubbles underwater, this adorable polar bear slides into his tank for a playful dip .

GRAND PRIX-INSPIRED ESPRESSO MACHINE

This may look like a monster car engine that will leave petrol heads in a spin, but it is in fact a rather snazzy looking COFFEE MACHINE .

ARTY ELEPHANTS

EXTRAORDINARY elephants create beautiful paintings in Thailand .

HOPE FOR HOMELESS HEDGEHOG

SNUGGLED up in the hay away from the elements, this adorable hoglet has sought solace with a familiar friend .

SMILING SHARKS

A lively lemon shark grins into the camera and showcases his impressive teeth .

ORDEAL: RAILING HORROR MAN HAD BEEN IMPALED BEFORE

A man who spent 30 minutes impaled on iron railings after attempting to scale an 8ft fence has told of his agonising ordeal - and how he suffered a similar mishap as a child .

WOMAN RECORDED VIOLENT BF STRANGLING HER AND THREATENING TO KILL HER WITH A KNIFE- WHEN HE SEXUALLY ASSAULTED HER SHE SAW HIM JAILED

Gabrielle Dale, 26, was subjected to seven years of coercive control and physical abuse at the hands of her violent boyfriend Sean Owen, 29 .

PRAYING MANTIS MAKES AN UNLIKELY FRIEND

A brave praying mantis makes an unusual friend in an Oriental garden lizard .

WOMAN'S LIFE-CHANGING OP AFTER THREE BOTCHED NOSE JOBS

A woman who had three botched nose jobs finally feels pretty after forking out £8 .

CREATE A RHAPSODY ON BOHEMIAN'S NEW SLICK OIL CAN GUITAR

GUITARISTS that want to lay down some slick licks will soon be able to get their hands on a brand new guitar - made from oil cans .