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
SINGING STOAT
MOUTH OPEN wide, this little stoat appears to be in mid-song as he belts out a tune for his onlookers .
SUPER CUTE BABY RED PANDAS
These adorable pictures show the moment two cuddly red panda cubs take their first look at the outside world and are weighed for the very first time .
BEAUTIFUL BRITISH LANDSCAPES
FROM the rolling hills of the Scottish highlands to looming chalk cliffs in Sussex, these stunning photographs capture the spectacular beauty of Great Britain .
HOPE FOR HOMELESS HEDGEHOG
SNUGGLED up in the hay away from the elements, this adorable hoglet has sought solace with a familiar friend .
LAST MILITARY HOSPITAL TIME CAPSULE
INSIDE Britain's last Naval hospital where scurvy was cured looks like an NHS time capsule .
WOMAN DESPERATE TO LOOK LIKE CHERYL COLE OVERCOMES ANOREXIA
A woman who starved herself to look like Cheryl Cole has told how she shrunk to just under 5st 13lbs after developing anorexia .
MINI BONZAI MODELS - TREE-MENDOUS
These are the fascinating pictures of miniature table sculptures molded around bonsai trees that take up to a painstaking 18 months to create .
ARTIST TURNS DAUGHTER'S DOODLES INTO WORKS OF ART
THIS UNUSUAL collaboration between a mother and her two-year-old daughter makes for some stunning works of art .
PLAYFUL DOLPHINS SHOW OFF THEIR AQUA AEROBIC SKILLS
These beautiful photographs show how these playful pods of dolphins make their own fun by gliding, flipping and spinning through the air whilst enjoying the sun on their backs .
WOMAN TELLS OF ORDEAL AFTER HORRIFIC ACID ATTACK
A woman who was left scarred for life by an acid attack orchestrated by her ex partner has told of her ordeal and her battled to rebuild her life .
SHY SEAL HIDES BEHIND ITS FLIPPER
HIDING behind its flipper, this little seal comes over a little camera shy .
POLAR BEARS HAVE A SPLASHING TIME
Playing, splashing and generally messing around, these polar bears show they certainly have a soft spot for the water, and not just each other .