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A lorry driver stunned work pals when he revealed he wanted to live the rest of his life as a woman.

But Roxy Cuthbertson – known to fellow truckers for 40 years as Ian – was left shedding tears of joy when they gave her their total support.

She said: “When I first went to work as Roxy, it was, ‘What the hell is going on?’.

“But I sat down and talked to them and they told me, ‘Whatever makes you happy’. It took a while for them to get used to calling me Roxy, but now they do and it’s great.”

Roxy, 63, built up the courage to reveal her secret after decades living a double life and will undergo gender reassignment surgery next month.

Now the trucker, who has also been a doorman and a mechanic, says workmates even defend her while out on jobs.

She said: “When they’re on deliveries people say ‘Have you got a tranny working for you?’ But the guys tell them, ‘She’s not a tranny, she’s transgender’. I love that they’ve accepted me.”

Roxy left school at 15 and became an apprentice mechanic. The 6ft 3in ex-biker said: “I was joining in with the lads, suppressing who I was.

“I think my mum knew but she never, ever said.”

Roxy got married three times as she struggled to come to terms with who she was.

She said: “The first was in my early twenties. It was annulled as we never consummated. She said to me after a month, ‘This is no good’ – and she was right.

“I met another girl and married again. We had a son, he’s 36 now. I was working away a lot and could dress up. I could be Roxy while I was away, but Ian when I was home.”

When the couple separated, Roxy wed a third time. But five years ago she divorced again, at last deciding to live as a woman. She said: “I just felt, ‘It’s my time’.

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“I’d been imprisoned in my body. I moved to my own place, then I could do as I wanted.”

But the biggest challenge was making a transition at work. Roxy explains: “One day I went in nail varnish. When the guys noticed I said it was for a bet.

“Another day I wore a wig and the lads were laughing, saying ‘You crack us up’.” But Roxy was called in by her boss and blurted out that she cross-dressed.

She said: “The boss was brilliant. He said whatever I did outside work was up to me. But I was still leading a double life.” It all changed when Roxy was seen driving down the motorway in a wig.

She said: “I got called in next day. I told them it was ripping me apart. The boss is old school. We talked for ages. I told him I was changing my name to Roxy by deed poll.

“He’ll never really understand it – but he has been fantastic.”