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.
STAR-TI-LING: 40,000 STARLINGS MIMIC HITCHCOCK'S THE BIRDS- This could be the fearsome scene from Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds as a flock of 40,000 starlings bask in the heat of a wonderful British sunset .
SNUGGLED up in the hay away from the elements, this adorable hoglet has sought solace with a familiar friend .
A once bustling gold rush town in Mono County, California now stands completed deserted .
A first-time mum has told how she was allergic to her unborn baby after she developed an angry red rash all over her body .
An American man who suffered horrific third-degree burns to 70 percent of his body in a childhood accident has faced his fears by becoming a firefighter .
LEAPING for joy five-feet above the waves this baby whale cutie is saying HELLO to its family after being lost .
WELCOME to the pretty 122-inch-tall red dwelling that lays claim to the title of the UK's smallest house .
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 .
Tina O’Brien, 54, from East Midlands, met Frederick Allchorne, now 62, when she was 15 .
A former obese woman has told how she lost 19st, but was so terrified of gaining weight that she ended up developing an eating disorder .
A grandmother has told how she has been unable to feel emotion for the last 12 years thanks to heart drugs she had to take in order to survive .
HOTSPOT MEDIA - WAVE-ING GOODBYE TO RUSH HOUR: WHILE most workers endure commuting chaos by road or rail everyday, one entrepreneur has come up with a novel way to get to the office - by KAYAK .