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 mum-of-two, who was scarred for life in a brutal attack at the hands of her ex-boyfriend, is now urging others to leave their abusive partners .
AT first glance these images could easily be mistaken for photographs, but they are in-fact real life drawings created using nothing but coloured pencils .
HIDDEN in the middle of the Mojave Desert, a secret oasis awaits intrepid travellers .
PAWS for thought as you feast your eyes on this rare bear bathing session .
Soldiers standing guard outside the Woolwich barracks in London - Two terror suspects are under armed guard in separate hospitals in London after a serving soldier was hacked to death in the street .
THE UK’S STRONGEST SCHOOLGIRL attributes her success to the bendy-body condition that once left her body wracked in pain .
A former cosmetic rep who swapped make-up for a career as a Marilyn Monroe lookalike has pocketed a staggering $4million (£2,630,000) as a full-time doppelgänger .
GLIDING through the water, these delightful frogs show off their vibrant colours as they practice their FROG crawl .
WITH SNOW COVERING the ground around them, these two polar bears play fight .
An Italian photographer travelled to the highlands of New Guinea where he met an Indonesian tribe untouched by the modern world .
A woman who battled aggressive bowel cancer has started a fashion blog offering style tips for those living with a colostomy bag .
A woman has revealed how she almost died after she developed sepsis from a cold .