A MAN who was born a girl has spoken of the abuse and harassment he is suffering in Barnstaple after a sex change.

John (not his real name) says he has suffered years of abuse because he is a transexual.

He is desperate to leave his housing association flat in Barnstaple, where he has been a target for narrow minded teenagers.

He said: "I live in complete darkness. I never open my blinds, it is like a cave.

"They call me things like 'he-she' or an abomination of nature.

"Abuse from other residents is the most shameful thing.

"I won't go outside because I could just make it worse."

He often escapes to his girlfriend's home and says: "I am a completely different person there."

John says he knew at an early age that he was in the wrong body.

"I remember thinking this at four or five years old. All the time you have this constant ticker tape in your head saying you should have been a boy."

As a child he spent time with boys and had short hair.

After school he admits he turned to alcohol.

He said: "I conformed as a heterosexual woman, which I wasn't. I had to dress as a woman but it was always uncomfortable. It felt like drag, very bad drag."

It was when he read a magazine and saw drag queens that he realised what he had to do.

"I thought perhaps that's what I am. I wanted to dress as a man. I started to look into it much deeper and went to my doctor who said he wasn't at all surprised."

Now John says there is no going back to his life as a woman.

"There is simply no other option for me if you take away the testosterone. I keep a couple of pictures with me but other than that I have no association with that person."

John is in frequent contact with the Intercom Trust, an Exeter-based lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender helpline and advocacy service.

Devon and Cornwall Police have also appointed a diversity officer Julie Dixon to support John.

She said: "From a very early age he understood what he was, but it took years and years for him to finally accept this and do something.

"This is the bravest decision anyone can make. Most people lose everything when they do it."

PC Dixon is working with North Devon Council and a housing association to find John new accommodation.

She said: "The abuse has gone on and on with continued harassment, nuisance and threats. What has happened is just unbelievable."

A spokesman for the housing association which looks after John's property said: "We are aware of the allegations of harassment. Our neighbourhood adviser and our enforcement officer met him recently to discuss the situation.

"He has said that he wants to move and we have agreed to work with other agencies to assist him with this.

"We are also working with the local neighbourhood beat manager, the equality and diversity officer and Safer North Devon.

"We fully sympathise with his need to move and will do what we can to help him."

● The Intercom Trust, which is run by professional volunteers, can be contacted on 0845 6020818.