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
SUNBATHING MEERKAT MAKES THE MOST OF UK SUN

LYING flat out on his back, this little meerkat makes the most of the English sunshine .

DEAD MEDIA: ARTIST CREATES SKULL OUT OF OBSOLETE VHS

If you're ever struggling to find a use for your old VHS tapes you might want to take a tip from this innovative artist .

BOSTON MARATHON PICTURES

T least three people have been killed and more than 100 injured, some seriously, in two explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon .

SNOWHERE TO HIDE MY NUTS! RARE RED SQUIRRELS FROLIC IN THE SNOW

If you had to scrape the snow off your car this morning or slip-slide your way into work over icy pavements spare a thought for these little critters .

UNIQUE CAVE RESTAURANT

DINING under the stars, this restaurant takes you back in time - inside an ancient cave .

KUNG-FU LEOPARD CUBS

Pouncing down on top of his twin brother, these two snow leopard cubs practice their kung-fu moves .

CHRISTMAS SNOWMAN ATTRACTS CURIOUS SQUIRREL

Peering curiously into a basket hanging off the arms of a snowman, this little squirrel appears fascinated by the snowy figure .

DOG CAN FINALLY SEE OWNER AGAIN THANKS TO £1K FACELIFT

A dog whose forehead skin was so heavy that he was going blind has finally seen his owner again after undergoing a £1K FACELIFT .

FIREFLIES ILLUMINATE AN ENCHANTING FOREST IN TAIWAN

Like a scene from a fairytale, THOUSANDS of fireflies create an enchanting glow as they dance in a forest .

LONDON LANDSCAPES PHOTOGRAPHED FROM ROOFTOPS

A British photographer has captured the beauty of London in a stunning series of landscapes shots .

RELAXING OTTER

FLOATING effortlessly on his back, this little otter laps up a rare glimmer of English spring sunshine .

SERENE ICEBERGS

A SERENE turquoise glow glimmers from underneath these powerful icebergs .