Former Olympic swimming champion Sharron Davies has compared the controversy over transgender athletes competing in women's sports to the East German doping scandal of the 1980s that deprived her of a gold medal.

Discussing the threat posed to women's sports by trans athletes who were born male, Ms Davies said it had been 'heartbreaking' watching her peers losing to competitors on performance enhancing drugs, adding: “I don't want that to happen to another generation”.

Recalling standing next to East Germany’s Kornelia Ender at the 1976 Montreal Olympics who Ms Davies described as ’absolutely ginormous' and who was later revealed to have been doping, Ms Davies said: “There were British athletes who came fourth who no one will have heard of. But they would have been Olympic champions.

“I know what it’s like to stand next to somebody and think no matter how hard I train I don’t have the physical equipment to be able to beat.”