A one-year-old boy in India who developed pubic hair and sexual urges has been diagnosed with a rare hormonal condition.

The toddler, known only as Akash, was found to have the testosterone level of a 25-year-old.

This meant he had adult-sized genitalia, facial and body hair and his voice was starting to break.

Doctors now say he is suffering from precocious puberty - defied as any child who goes through puberty before the age of seven or eight.

The toddler, known only as Akash, was found to have the testosterone levels of a 25-year-old. This meant he had adult-sized genitalia, facial and body hair and his voice was starting to break (file image)

Akash's parents first noticed something was wrong six months ago.

His genitals were growing abnormally big, while the rest of his body was too small compared to other children his age.

The child's unnamed mother told the Hindustan Times: 'We thought maybe he was just a big baby, so we did not take him to the doctor.

'But by the time he was one, it was apparent there was something wrong.

'My mother-in-law, who has taken care of several children in the family, also said that his growth seemed unnatural. That is when we took him to the doctor.'

Precocious puberty is a rare condition. The youngest mother on record, Lina Medina, gave birth at the age of five years and seven months in Peru in 1939, and became an international celebrity at the time.

Her parents had assumed her growing abdomen was due to a tumour. But when remedies failed to cure it, her father took her to hospital.

Just one month later she astounded the world by giving birth to a boy - and becoming the the youngest mother in history aged just five years and seven months.

Akash's doctor, Vaishakhi Rustagi, told the Hindustan Times: 'Precocious puberty is traumatic for a child of his age and it makes them violent - his muscle strength increased to a level that even his parents couldn't control him.'

Another danger is that the child will stop growing prematurely, therefore remaining 3-4ft tall for life.

The toddler has now been given medication to relieve his symptoms - at least until he is old enough to understand his condition, doctors said.