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
HOUSEWORK-OUT

STEPFORD wives from the 1950's and 60's are performing history's most sexist exercise programme .

NOT FIT FOR DOGS - RSPCA RESCUERS FIND ANIMALS IN SHOCKING FILTH

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LONDON 2012: FUNNY OLYMPIC BAGS SAY 'THEY'RE ALL ON STEROIDS

While the various controversies rumble on regarding transport, security issues and overly-officious copyright enforcement, a couple of designers is saying what we're all thinking about the Olympics - and putting it on bags .

BODYBUILDER SQUIRREL

FLEXING his muscles and staring straight at his opponent, this bodybuilding squirrel is the nuts .

GRAVEYARDS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

From the tails of fighter planes to black and white checked buildings, graveyards take different and unusual forms around the world .

STUNNING AURORA BOREALIS REFLECTED IN ICELAND

CONTRACT CANCELLED, DO NOT SYNDICATE .

SWALLOW WHOLE - YOUNG BIRD ENJOYS DINNER TIME

PERCHING on top of a gate, this young barn swallow waits patiently for his mum to return with dinner .

PEEKABOO SQUIRRELS EMERGE FROM THEIR NEST

SQUEEZING their furry faces through a hole in a tree, a trio of curious baby squirrels leave their nest for the first time to explore their surroundings .

BABY WHALE AND MOTHER LAP UP TOURIST ATTENTION

A grey whale and her calf greet an audience of awestruck admirers on the Pacific coast of Baja California Sur, Mexico .

PET DOG WITH CANCER LEFT TO DIE

CCTV shows a dark figure dumping the dog- A pet dog suffering with cancer has been put down after being dumped at an animal rescue in what officials said is the worst abandonment of any animal they have witnessed .

TEST COULD HAVE SAVED ME FROM CERVICAL CANCER AT 20

A young woman has told how she has been robbed of her fertility and now faces an uncertain future after she was diagnosed with cervical cancer at the age of just 22 .

KRYPONITE BEACH

LUMINOUS green rocks could easily be a beach from Superman's homeland of Krypton .