The 13-year-old boy trapped in a girl’s body

LEO Waddell was one of the young people who started taking hormone blockers on the Tavistock and Portman clinic trial at age 12. The schoolboy, who began life as Lily, has favoured boy’s clothes over dresses and frills since he was a toddler and at the age of nine told his mother: ‘I don’t want to be a girl any more.’

He admitted that if he was forced to continue living as a girl ‘I would probably kill myself’. Leo described being referred to the gender identity development service in 2001 as ‘amazing’ because he was finally able to start living his life. Initially ‘Lily’s’ mother Hayley, pictured, left, with her son, thought her desire to act like a boy would be something she would grow out of, but as she got older and continued to reject all things feminine she realised this wasn’t the case.

At the age of 11 she allowed Lily to change her name by deed poll to Leo.

But Leo, from Lowestoft, Suffolk, recalled how, even with his family’s understanding, he still struggled.

He said: ‘School was tough. It was normal until year six, but then when I got my name changed they wouldn’t call me Leo for about three months, and then when they started calling me Leo they still wouldn’t call me “he”, they carried on calling me “she”.’

His mother added: ‘There was a lot of ignorance surrounding gender dysphoria as no one had heard of it.’