TEEN WITH 100s OF BIRTHMARKS BEATS BULLIES TO EMBRACE BEAUTY

A teenage girl nicknamed 'spotty dog' by school bullies has embraced the hundreds of birthmarks that cover her entire face and body. 19-year-old Ciera Swaringen, of Rockwell, North Carolina, USA was born with mole-like birthmarks that spread from her head to her toes. Ciera's rare skin condition affects just one in 500,000 people and covers 70 percent of her body - with the largest mark stretching from her lower thighs to her navel. Since a child, the pretty teen has endured cruel taunts from strangers, but has now grown to love her unique appearance. She says: “Teenage boys are usually the first ones to comment when they see me. “They say things like, ‘You look like you’re dirty, take a wash.’

Other great stories
UNDERGROUND CHIC

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

A HOLE LOT OF TROUBLE! - WOMAN HAS PHOBIA OF HOLES

Meet mother of four, Jackie Wright, whose bizarre fear means she is terrified of HOLES .

RED SMOKE AT NIGHT, VOLCANO SPOTTERS DELIGHT

With the vivid red smoke billowing into the sky amid the misty sand dunes, these are the blissful views provided at the break of dawn at a volcano .

SCOTTISH COUPLE MARRY INSIDE BEAUTIFUL ICELANDIC CAVE

BEAUTIFULLY lit by the dim glow of lanterns, a cave in Iceland is transformed into the perfect wedding venue .

AVATAR-STYLE WISTERIAS WILL LEAVE YOU FEELING TREE-UMPHANT

A TEN-THOUSAND square foot wide Avatar-style grove is such a beauty it will leave you feeling VINE .

THEY'RE BEHIND YOU!

SURROUNDED by tens of thousands of fish, this outnumbered diver is dwarfed by a mass of sea life .

MESMERIZING STAR TRAILS

MESMERIZING night sky photographs offer a spellbinding look at the stars .

GONE IN SIXTY SECONDS GANG JAILED FOR 12YRS

A gang whose £1-million supercar scam has echoes of the film Gone In Sixty Seconds has been jailed for a total of 12 years .

CHUCKLING SEAL

CHUCKLING away, this little seal appears to find something hilarious .

LIP FILLERS NEARLY KILLED ME

A woman left disfigured and traumatised by an addiction to lip filler injections has issued a warning to others searching for the perfect pout after the plastic chemicals nearly killed her .

ADORABLE OWLS CUDDLE UP FOR THE CAMERA

HUDDLED together on a branch, a pair of adorable Javan scops owls soak up the sun .

ABANDONED WILD WEST THEME PARK

The gunslingers are long gone and tumbleweeds have taken over at this abandoned American Wild West Theme Park in Cornwall .