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Towering head and shoulders above her parents this giant teenager is the tallest in the world at a whopping 6ft 10 ins and she could still be growing.

Weighing in at 20.5 stone, Malee Duangdee from eastern Thailand knew she was different from a young age, growing much faster than her school friends.

At the age of nine her mother, Ji, 40, took her to see a doctor because she noticed a difference between her daughter and her friends and she wanted to make sure there was nothing seriously wrong with her.

Medics found a brain tumour that was pressing on a nerve. This caused a hormone imbalance meant she never stopped growing and now has an injection worth £2,000 every three months to control her growth.

Her height brought the 18-year-old problems while she was at school and she suffered from bullies and has memories of a lifetime of loneliness.

She said: 'I used to feel like a freak, schoolchildren used to bully me and call me names. But since leaving school I've tried to feel more comfortable with who I am. I've got used to life on my own, but it's hard.'

As a result of her brain tumour Malee has lost her sight. 'I've been tall for as long as I can remember and taking medication is part of my daily life. But as I've got older my eyesight has got worse and it's really difficult for me to get around.'

Her mother said that they try to do their best by their daughter, but they struggle financially: 'The injections have really helped to control her growth but they are expensive.

'She is supposed to have an injection every three to six months, but we can't always afford them so we are not sure if she's still growing.'

Malee's condition appears to be under control for the moment and since leaving school her life has turned round.

'All the kids used to call me names, the one I could never understand was "Dirty Malee". They were always so nasty.

'It would make me so sad. I was desperate to have some friends to play with but they all ignored me. Thankfully I had a good teacher who tried to help me and now I have nothing to do with them.'

Most of her time is now spent with her family, particularly her three-year-old sister, Daoruang.

'I help my mother around the house and cook meals. Or I'll cycle to see my aunt in the next village. I don't do much.

'I've never had a boyfriend. I don't think marriage is possible for someone like me, I'm just too different.

'My father gets very worried about me, he doesn't let me go anywhere alone because sometimes I need help getting up, I'm pretty heavy.

'But I'd love to be like any other 19-year-old and live alone, build a life for myself and have fun but who knows what will happen.'

Malee was officially recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records as the tallest girl in January 2009 knocking Brazilian Elisany Silva off the top spot. She was just 6ft 9ins tall.