Army dream of transgender patient.

A NORTH East transgender patient who was born a girl has spoken of his determination to serve in the British Army as a man.

Nicholas Darroch, 21, from Middlesbrough, will have surgery to remove his breasts that could allow him to follow his dream of joining the infantry or artillery. Born Siobhan, Mr Darroch always struggled to fit in and believed he suffered from gender dysphoria, where a person feels trapped in the wrong sex.

He has spent pounds 1,000 on hormone treatment to become more masculine, and now has the appearance of a teenage boy. But he has become frustrated by the wait for NHS treatment - which the service said was caused by demand from so many patients.

Mr Darroch said: "My dad calls me crazy, but I want to be with all the other lads and lasses fighting for the country I was born into." He decided to restrain his breasts in a chest minimiser and will work hard after surgery to get fit enough to get through the Army medical.

He was under the care of Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Trust's gender clinic in Sunderland, and has been waiting four months for treatment.

A spokesman for the trust said the level of demand for its specialist service meant that patients often faced a wait.

"Our service was originally commissioned to treat 30 patients per year, but the demand has been 40% greater," he said.

"This, coupled with the fact that patients often stay with the service some time due to the complex nature of their individual needs, means that patients inevitably have to wait to be seen by our specialist staff."

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DETERMINED Nicholas Darroch.