A woman with albinism who was bullied because she 'didn't have brown hair' - is now proud of her condition and will never dye her white hair as it's 'part of her identity'.

Kristina Venning Rose, 47, was born with albinism - meaning her body produces no pigment.

This gave her white hair, white skin and violet eyes - leaving her visually impaired - and she is the only person in her family to have the condition.

Kristina grew up being bullied for looking different - and says mean school kids would exclude her and force her to stare into the sun despite her light-sensitive eyes.

She began dying her hair darker - but stopped as she grew fed up of being ashamed of who she was.

People still point, shout and stop her in the street but she wants to use her experiences to educate people and change perceptions about albinism.

Kristina, a charity worker, from Eltham, southeast London, said: "All my life I've been stared at, photographed and made the butt of everyone's jokes."

"As a kid, I grew up feeling like I was a freak, I was embarrassed and ashamed of who I was."

"But I realised nobody should have to feel like that - including me - and I don't want anyone else to."

"If I could change one thing in the whole world, I wouldn't fix my vision, I would fix other people's attitudes."

"I know albinism is rare and some people have genuine questions, but I want to turn that curiosity into something positive, not negative."

Kristina was born into a family where she was the only one with albinism - and looked different to her parents and siblings.

The type she has, OCA1A, is a form of albinism which is caused by a dysfunction in the OCA1 gene.

It causes an absence of pigmentation throughout the body, meaning Kristina has white hair, extremely pale skin and light-sensitive pale eyes.

At school she was bullied and made to feel "like a freak" for it."

She said: "I was excluded from games and told 'if you don't have brown hair, you can't play'."

"Kids would steal my sunglasses so I had to walk around with my hands over my eyes."

"Or they'd force me to stare at the sun until my eyes watered. It was horrific."

"Kids would run away from me because they knew I couldn't see well enough to find them again."

"That stuff shapes you - I grew up feeling like 'a freak' because that's what I was told."

Aged seven, Kristina's parents took her to a group for other children with albinism and their parents.

But she said she felt "embarrassed and ashamed" because it forced her to confront her own condition too late in life."

She said: "I saw other kids like me, but by then, I didn't like me."

Aged 18, she went to Nottingham Trent University to study Psychology and Culture and Media Studies, and began dyeing her hair darker so she would fit in more.

Over time she realised she needed to fix her mindset and got back in touch with Albinism Fellowship - the same support group she had attended as a child.

Kristina said: "I didn't want the people who told me I was a 'worthless freak' to win."

Kristina grew up and went on to marry and have two children - Poppy, 12, who has a subtle form of albinism, and Charlie, 16.

She continued to be a member of the group over the years and eventually took on the role of co-chair of the charity.

She said: "I still wouldn't say I'm fully 100 per cent OK with having albinism - but it's a journey."

"It's hard when you never see your condition or skin type represented on TV, or at make-up stands, for example."

"Or if you are represented, it's negative - if there's someone with pale skin they're often the baddies who are killing people."

"Examples are Silas in The Da Vinci Code, and the twins in The Matrix."

Her aim is to help educate people and raise awareness, as well as deconstructing misconceptions of the rare condition.

Kristina is now far less affected by the abuse she gets - although she said she still faces it.

She said: "I've pretty much been called everything - people liken me to a Targaryen from Game of Thrones, or Dumbledore from Harry Potter."

"People drive past and shout 'albino' out the window - once a guy came out of nowhere and called me that and ruffled my hair."

"There's no real social taboo against laughing at people with albinism, even though it's a medical condition and you shouldn't do that."

Kristina said her "biggest wish in life" is that no child with albinism grows up feeling the way she did."

She said: "If I could make one child feel good about themselves, I'll be happy."

"You have to give people the foundations, and introduce them to other kids with albinism from a young age so they don't think they're the only ones."

"With albinism, it's so visible and you're seen - but you're never seen for who you are, only for your condition."

"All I can do is try to make the world a better place in the tiny way I can."

Visit Albinism Fellowship website: https://www.albinism.org.uk/