"I was born without my left arm - now I have a bionic arm with painted-on veins, freckles and acrylic nails"

A student born without a left arm has a "new lease of life" thanks to her prosthetic limb - with painted-on veins, freckles and acrylic nails.

Zahra Tabibniya, 23, says she felt she needed to hide her disability during her school years.

She tried different prosthetics - including a heavy 2kg limb made of silicone - but says her latest silicone arm is her favourite and allows her to tie her laces and do her hair.

The £700 silicone prosthetic looks natural with painted-on veins, freckles, moles and acrylic nails attached.

Zahra even got her prosthetic skin colour topped up to match her summer tan.

Zahra is delighted to be able to carry her own luggage, check her phone and tie her laces thanks to her prosthetic arm - and says it has given her "much more freedom".

Zahra, a pharmacy student, originally from Tehran, Iran, but studying at the University of Rome, Italy, said: “I absolutely hated wearing prosthetics, but the one I have now has allowed me to have more freedom.

“My old prosthetics used to be so heavy - weighing up to 2kg.

"But because my new one is so lightweight - I can wear it for much longer, sometimes up to 22 hours.

“People think it’s just a cosmetic thing for me because it looks natural - but it actually has around most of the function an actual arm has.

“Prosthetics started off as a disguise for my disability - but it’s just a part of me now.”

At eight months old, Zahra’s parents decided to buy her a prosthetic arm - which she wore until she was three.

Over the last 23 years, she’s had several different types of prosthetics - her first being a “mechanical arm with a sling", as well as a body-powered arm made from silicone, and PVC limb.

But at the age of 21, Zahra was introduced to her current doctor, Dr. Khaghani, at the Behboodteb Clinic, in Tehran, Iran.

She says he was the “first doctor in the world” to use the type of silicone prosthetic Zahra has - and she only needs to get it replaced every two years.

Zahra said: “I’ve had so many different types of prosthetics, but this one has stuck with me.

“So many of the ones I used to have really hindered the way I moved, especially if they were heavier.

"I’d have to move my shoulders in a certain way to get them to work.

“Even my PVC arm had its problems - it would look the same as my other arm for a while, the issue was after a while it would turn very dark brown, so I had to change it to match my skin tone.”

While Zahra isn’t worried about using a prosthetic for her appearance anymore - after originally wanting one to “stop the bullies in school”.

The bullying she received growing up also led to her becoming depressed and feeling alienated because of her birth defect.

She said: “I definitely don’t use a prosthetic to disguise my disability now - but my mental health was very much affected by bullies.

“Kids can be very mean, especially between the ages of six and 10. They don’t understand the concept of what it means to be disabled.