A transgender paedophile has been moved to a women's prison despite her history of grooming underage girls.

Female inmates are said to be 'terrified' of the appearance of Michelle Lewin, 51, at HMP Peterborough, after she was given legal certification of being female.

Lewin, born Shaun Pudwell, was jailed in 2007 for grooming underage girls and is now awaiting gender reassignment surgery.

Shaun Pudwell was convicted for grooming underage girls. Now Michelle Lewin, she has been put in a women's prison

A source told The Sun: 'A lot of the women are genuinely terrified of her. Lewin's a serious sex offender and she's physically much stronger.

'There are female inmates in there who have been raped and they are scared of her.'

There are up to 400 women, many of whom are vulnerable or former abuse victims, in the Sodexo owned prison.

Legally female Lewin was married in prison in 2014, at HMP Elmley in Kent, to Mark Lewin.

He was later jailed in 2015 for having indecent images of children but has since been released.

Women in the prison (HMP Peterborough, pictured) are said to be 'terrified' of living with a transgender paedophile

Mr Lewin said to The Sun: 'She's been moved because she is legally female.'

The latest figures showed there were 125 transgender prisoners in England and Wales up to the end of March 2017, an increase from 70 a year earlier.

About 25 are thought to be in women's jails.

At least 34 male-born inmates are living as women in four specialist sex offender jails for men, according to Freedom of Information Act requests.

But prison governors say many have sought to be transferred to women's jails.

There have been no issues with Michelle Lewin in the prison, it is believed.