A brave boy has spoken out about coming out as transgender - saying he feared his mother, family and friends would 'hate' him.

Kai Windsor, 11, from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, who was born a girl, Kaia, is currently undergoing NHS-funded hormone treatment to change sex.

Speaking on ITV's This Morning Kai revealed how his mother, Rachel, 37, has been 100 per cent supportive since he confided in her.

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Kai Windsor, who was born a girl, Kaia, is undergoing NHS-funded hormone treatment, which he says has been life changing. 'I definitely want to stay a boy, I'm never going to change,' he revealed on This Morning

Describing his relief at coming out, aged nine, Kai said: 'It was a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.

Paying tribute to this mother, he said: 'I felt like she really supported me a lot. I was really happy. I didn't think I could tell her, but I could.'

Before he confessed his true feelings, Kai was struggling to fit in at school and was referred to a psychologist

He said: 'I felt really different. Everyone was so happy at school and I was the only one who felt really out of place.'

Kai is now having hormone treatment, which pauses puberty, and he will be offered gender reassignment surgery by the NHS at 16, if he wants to continue living as man.

Kai, who is now having hormone treatment, which pauses puberty, pictured in pink as Kaia at the age of four

Rachel, 37, mother described how her son was only interested in boys' toys as a toddler, refused to wear dresses at four, wanted his hair cut short at six and by nine knew he had been born into the wrong body

But Kai says his mind is already made up: 'I definitely know what I am going to do when I'm older. I definitely want to stay a boy. I'm never going to change.'

Reliving the moment Kai confided in her, Rachel said: 'He was crying for hours saying, "You're going to hate me".

'I told him no one would hate him,' she said and admitted, 'I knew in my heart what he was going to say. But for me as a mum I just love him unconditionally.

'I'm extremely proud of him.'

Last year gender treatment for children under the age of 11, which includes counselling and hormone-blocking medication, cost the NHS £2.5million. Referrals have also quadrupled since 2009.

Gender treatment for children under 11 cost the NHS more than £2.5million last year, but Kai (pictured with mother Rachel, centre) said the availability of treatment on the NHS has been life-changing

According to the programme, the figures have sparked debate over whether the NHS should be footing the bill, but Kai and his mother say the support he has received has been life-changing.

'Obviously the future scares me very deeply but he's on his blockers at the moment, and if it wasn't for the NHS treatment then it would be very different,' said Rachel.

The single mother, who runs a juice bar, said she was only introduced the concept of gender transitioning when Kai was seven, after watching an episode of This Morning.

The mother described the moment her sister phoned to ask if she was watching the show and they both simultaneously acknowledged that the transgender boy being interviewed reminded them of Kai.

But Rachel put the gender transition issue to the back of her mind, despite acknowledging there were signs there from an early age.

Also appearing on the programme alongside Kai (left) and Rachel (centre) to discuss the issue of NHS funding for transgender treatment was Dr Robert Lefever (right), an addiction and depression specialist

As a toddler Kai was only interested in boys' toys, by four he refused to wear dresses and he asked for his hair to be cut short at the age of six.

The single mother also noticed other boyish behaviour. Kai, then still known as Kaia, would blush whenever other girls were around.

In an interview last year, Rachel spoke of the unwavering support provided by Kai's primary school.

When he came out as transgender, Kai's school sent a letter out to all the parents to explain Kai should be referred to as a boy.

The school also organised special lessons for the entire school to educate the pupils about being transgender - and built special unisex toilets to make life easier for Kai and others like him.

Once Kai came out to his peers, his mother immediately noticed an improvement in his mood and his school work.

'Once people stopped referring to Kai as a girl and he could just be the little boy he wanted, he was so much happier,' she said.