A transgender woman has been sent to an all-male prison, despite having lived full-time as a woman for six years.

26-year-old Tara Hudson, of Bath, was sentenced to twelve weeks behind bars by magistrates, after she admitted assault.

However, Miss Hudson – who has been living full-time as a woman since the age of 20 – is set to be sent to a men’s prison, leaving many fearing for her life.

The woman is set to serve out her sentence in Bristol Prison – an all-male prison – as she does not have a Gender Recognition Certificate.

GRCs, the formal process by which people can change their legal gender, can be costly to obtain and require a large amount of paperwork and ‘proof’ of gender transition – meaning that some trans people struggle to obtain them.

Despite living of female for over half a decade, prison authorities say that Miss Hudson is still ‘legally’ male.

Her mother Jackie Brooklyn told the Bath Chronicle: “There’s nothing male about her, nobody would know the difference. She looks like a woman. She’s gorgeous.

“We think it’s totally outrageous. I don’t think she will cope well at all. I just feel the men are going to go after her. It’s going to be humiliating.

“I just want to get my daughter into a safe, female environment where she belongs and will continue to fight the decision.

“I fear that it is a potentially dangerous situation for her to be in and feel strongly that she would be far safer in a female environment.”

A petition warned: “She has been placed in an all male prison environment, where she will be completely open to physical and sexual abuse.

“She has already received treatment for depression and has experienced abuse because of her gender identity. Her life is in danger.”

A Prison Service spokesman said: “It is long-standing policy to place offenders according to their legally recognised gender.

“There are strict rules in place to ensure transsexual prisoners are managed safely and in accordance with the law.”