The Girl Guides will allow boys who identify as female to shower with girls, it has emerged.

For the first time, Girlguiding's official guidance instructs guide leaders to allow members who were born male but now identify as female to share changing rooms, toilets and sleeping quarters with girls when away on excursions.

The 107-year-old organisation updated its rules, which apply to members aged from five to 25, to allow transgender girls to "share accommodation with other young members if they wish" and use the same facilities.

Guidance on transgender members was first added in 2015 and updated this year.

The new guidance, issued on the group's UK website, says that "the use of gendered facilities," including showers, toilets and changing rooms, "can cause anxiety".

It adds: "Members are allowed to use the facilities of the gender they self-identify as."