Britain's Youngest Sex Change Patient

'But this is my life, and it won't be worth living unless I have that operation. The doctors have said I need the surgery for my own peace of mind.

'I hate my body as it is now. I've known for years I'm a woman - I think and act like a woman, not a man. I don't want years of misery.

'I want it done as soon as possible so I can be the person physically that I am on the inside.

'People might think I'm too young to make such a huge decision but I know my own mind and this is what I want.'

Bradley, from East Yorkshire, began researching sex change operations last year. He made an appointment to see his GP and was referred to a psychologist at Hull Royal Infirmary.

His classmates have taunted him for being gay and 18 months ago he was excluded from school after getting into fights. His mother Elaine, 40, split from Bradley's body builder father 13 years ago, when their son was just three.

She said: 'If I won the lottery tomorrow, I'd pay for the operation straight away. But we don't have the money.

'People can have their own beliefs on whether they think this is a good use of NHS money but I just want what will make my child happy.'

She added: 'It's a shock when your only son comes and tells you he wants to be girl. But I told him I'd stand by him whatever he wanted to do in life.

'The psychologist said she was satisfied that Bradley knew his own mind and was eligible for a sex change and immediately put him on a waiting list for an operation.'

Bradley is now waiting to see the Gender Identity Development Service, based at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust in North London.

The youngest Briton to have undergone a sex change until now is Angel Paris-Jordan, formerly Oliver Wheadon, from Wigton in Cumbria. She had the operation just before her 18th birthday in 2002. Last year, German teenager Kim Petras, who was born Tim, became the world's youngest sex-change patient after undergoing the procedure at the age of 16. She is now an aspiring model and pop star.