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Equal rights campaigners at leading universities have been pressing for the changes for ages to allow biologically female transgender students to use them without facing discrimination.

But angry critics have branded the decision to install them “madness”.

Norman Wells, of the Family Education Trust, said: "People who are genuinely confused about their identity are not helped when others treat them as something other than they objectively are.

"To address a woman as a man or a man as a woman will merely reinforce them in their confusion.

"A truly compassionate approach towards those struggling with feelings at variance with their biological sex would honestly, gently and patiently seek to help them to recognise and accept what they are, and not pretend that they are what they are not."

(Image: GETTY)

He added: “This underlines the madness of the gender ideologues.

“The simple fact is that women menstruate and men don’t, no matter what the men and women concerned may feel about themselves.

“For generations biological men have used men's toilets and biological women have used women's toilets and there has never been a problem with that arrangement.

"A person's sex is an objective fact. For someone to feel that he or she is something other than his or her biological sex is a sign of confused thinking and needs to be treated as such. “To require the rest of us to pretend that a minority of people are something other than they really are will only compound the confusion, and that won't help anyone."

The tampon bins will be installed in universities across the UK – including University of Birmingham, University of Southampton and Cardiff University.

Students at the institutions in question have also slammed the move.

Christopher Gage, 27, and a recent graduate from Cardiff University, said: "The transgender debate has gone too far.

"Just 0.3% of the population are suffering from gender dysphoria. This bending of reality to enable a delusion is worrying."

Jack Smith, a student at University of Birmingham, said: “It is ridiculous in my opinion. Where do you draw the line?

“Next they’ll be putting makeup remover and nail polish remover in the men’s toilets.”

Whle a student at University of Southampton, who only wanted to be known as Joe, said: “It’s a bit loopy. I don’t like the idea and nor do most of my male mates.

“There are far more pressing issues to tackle at university. If only so much fuss, time and money was spent on improving our education.”

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But Sam Bailey, vice-president welfare officer at Southampton Students’ Union, said: “I’m really proud that our students decided to make this small but positive change that will have such an impact on many trans students’ lives.

“So many students spoke up in favour of this change from all over the university.

“We have an incredible range of people in the 23,000 students at the university and the Improving Trans Inclusion policy is an important step in making sure every single one of them feels comfortable on their own campus.”

The union said in a statement the majority of “negative experiences” among trans students was caused by single-sex toilets and changing rooms.

It added: “All suggestions for improvement included either increasing the number of gender neutral toilets available, or adding sanitary bins to male toilets for men who menstruate.”

(Image: GETTY)

Spokesmen for Cardiff Students Union and Guild of Students’, University of Birmingham, would only confirm it was to make a decision on installing tampon bins in men’s loos.

It is estimated there are up to 28,000 trans students in UK universities, out of 2.3million.

Chris Hall, of Universities UK’s Equality Challenge, said: “Trans staff and students should be consulted to understand their requirements. It’s important institutions are supportive.”

Last year, some UK universities introduced gender-neutral toilets in response to growing numbers of students identifying themselves as transgender.

These included University of Northampton but some students at the institution said the move made them “feel uncomfortable”.

Joe Hodson, 24 and a business entreupeneurship graduate, said: “I was against the idea of them. “It also made me wonder what went on in the toilets and whether I really want to use them. They made you feel uncomfortable.”