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A transgender woman has been expelled from her social club after an incident in the ladies loo.

Hinoi Tonkin, who used to be 21-stone Keith but has slimmed down to nine stone, was already under suspension at the club.

But she was formally thrown out after a meeting of the committee last week at Beechwood, Easterside and District Social Club in Middlesbrough.

Hinoi was accused of swearing and behaviour which disturbed other members but had denied the charge.

She refused to attend the hearing but it went ahead in her absence and club secretary Mick Smith informed her of the decision by letter.

Hinoi, 29, claims she is the victim of transphobia but the club say she has been treated the same as anyone else.

She said she had felt comfortable after joining the club last year but had became concerned by several incidents recently.

It culminated when Hinoi, who still needs more operations to complete her transformation from a man into a woman, hit her head off the toilet wall following an altercation.

She said: “I have been expelled but I do not think I am to blame.

“I have seen girls as drunk as skunks and nothing has been said but a complaint about me was investigated and upheld.

“In the past I have been blamed for urinating on the seats in the women’s toilets but it wasn’t me. And I have been stared at sometimes.

“I thought people had accepted me for the woman I am and I was starting to feel comfortable at the club but I was worried by some things which happened.

“Once a man pulled me up to dance but I was not in the mood and when he realised I was transgender he said some very unpleasant things.

“I have been stressed out by all the staring from people and it got to me.”

Hinoi was called to the meeting to answer a charge that she had used foul language towards another female member. She was also accused of collapsing on her seat and floor and hitting her head off the wall of the loo.

Hinoi denies swearing but admitted being distressed and hitting the wall.

She said: “I admit nutting my head off the wall in the ladies toilet hoping it would cause enough damage that I would not come around.

“I know it was the wrong way to deal with it but I was desperate.

“I am a girl and I always have been. It’s just that I was born with a disability.”

Hinoi, of Grangetown, said her transformation is still incomplete and she is waiting for hair removal treatment.

She is also inquiring about procedures to reduce folds of skins caused by her weight loss.

“I am not stopping until I am who I should be,” she said.

“What has upset me is that I have been a member of the club for a year and I thought I was settling in very well.

“I have done nothing wrong and, if anything, I am the victim.”

Hinoi is supported by her mother Margaret who said her daughter just wants to be left alone.

She said: “Hinoi has collapsed with stress but anyone who really knows her adores her.

“She likes to dance and some people don’t like to see her having a good time.”

Mr Smith confirmed Hinoi had been told to attend a meeting.

He said: “This is a private matter between the club and the member and I will not tell you what happened.

“I will be sending a letter to her informing her of the decision.”