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
DAUGHTER KILLED HERSELF AFTER BEING RAPED – BUT SAVED FOUR PEOPLES' LIVES THROUGH ORGAN DONATION

A woman whose daughter committed suicide after being raped as a child, has revealed she donated her organs - saving four peoples’ lives .

IT'S A WATERING CAN-VAS

AS graffiti goes, this giant mural of a sweet little girl tenderly watering a tree beneath her is a far cry from what you usually see emblazoned across cities .

BUNGLING DRUG DEALER CAUGHT IN TOP COP'S PARKING SPACE

A prolific drug dealer was caught red-handed in a car filled with amphetamines after he decided to park in a top copper's parking space - as a joke .

MAN SPENDS £100K TO LOOK LIKE KIM KARDASHIAN

A man has spent almost £100K on lip fillers, Botox and designer clothing in a bid to look like Kim Kardashian .

LONDON HELICOPTER CRASH

A helicopter has crashed landed in Central London .

SPECTACULAR AURORA BOREALIS

A SPECTRUM of colours fills the sky during this spectacular and natural display of light .

UNDERGROUND CHIC

Full of tired and busy commuters, these underground stations are rarely admired for their architecture or beauty .

DAREDEVIL DINING: THE 160FT HIGH RESTAURANT

Suspended FIFTY metres in the air, this is the last place that you would expect to find a fine dining experience .

PORTRAITS IN PAKISTAN

A photographer from the United Arab Emirates travelled to Pakistan where he captured the lives of local people in a series of expressive portraits .

STUNNING WINTER PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE HIGHEST RAILWAY IN THE ALPS

ROLLING across a 65-metre-high viaduct in the Alps, the red carriages of the Bernina Express add a splash of colour to the spectacular snow-covered Swiss surroundings .

WOMAN DUMPED OVER RARE SLEEP CONDITION FINDS LOVE

A personal trainer who was dumped over a life-changing sleep disorder has finally found love .

ANGER AS BLOCKBUSTER ADVERTISES EMPLOYEES JOBS TO MAKE THEM “WORK HARDER”

Struggling home entertainment chain Blockbuster has been slammed for advertising its workers' jobs while they are still in them in order to scare them into working harder .