A transgender activist has been fined £150 after being found guilty of assaulting a radical feminist during a rally in London's Hyde Park.

Tara Wolf, 26, was convicted of striking Maria Maclachlan on the back and shoulder during a protest at Speakers' Corner in September last year.

The row broke out when Ms Maclachlan, 61, began filming protesters on her hand-held camera - resulting in a scuffle when a group of trans activists tried to take it from her.

The victim, who was part of a group gathering to discuss changes to the Gender Identity Act , said she was filming because she wanted to obtain some amusing footage.

The controversial Act is designed to make it easier for people to define their gender independently of the state.

Ms Maclachlan, who blogs and tweets about gender issues, admitted grabbing hold of Wolf's girlfriend and kicking her, believing she had snatched her camera and thrown it to the ground, adding that Wolf's partner - who was never identified - had kicked her first.

Wolf denied one count of assault by beating, but admitted striking the complainant, saying she acted in defence of her partner and to prevent any footage being posted online that might make members of the group the target of online abuse.

She admitted posting on Facebook ahead of the event: "I wanna f*** up some terfs ('trans-exclusionary radical feminists'). They're no better than fash (fascists)."

Wolf - an aspiring model - claimed she made the comment out of bravado and wanted to protest peacefully.

Finding Wolf guilty following a two-day trial at Hendon Magistrates' Court, Judge Kenneth Grant said: "The language on both sides of the debate was antagonistic to say the least."

He continued: "Ms Wolf referred to the event as a hate rally and the group she was protesting against as 'trans exterminatory radical feminists', which is strong language."

She referred to the opposing group as "Terfs", which Ms Maclachlan said was an abusive term.

"It may well have been the defendant's honestly held belief, but it demonstrates the passion of the views held by opposing members of the debate."

He rejected Wolf's defence that she feared her image being circulating online, emphasising that many people from both sides of the protest were filming as well as members of the public.

Judge Grant added that as it was held at Speakers' Corner, the protesters could reasonably have expected media crews to be present.

"I conclude all three incidents in which there was physical contact did amount to assault," he said.

He continued: "I reject the defence of the defendant that she was acting in self-defence or defence of another, or for the prevention of crime."

Ms Maclachlan admitted that following the event she had sent out a tweet featuring a close-up of the defendant's face with the words: "Hiya, got any hair restorer while I'm in hiding? Love Tara."

She had to be repeatedly told to refer to the defendant as female by the judge during her evidence.

In a victim impact statement, she said she had been unable to work as a funeral celebrant since the assault, has needed medication to sleep and has been unable to attend football matches because she now fears large crowds.

Wolf was ordered to pay a £150 fine, a £30 surcharge and £250 towards costs.

However, Judge Grant refused to grant Ms Maclachlan any compensation, saying: "Compensation would not be appropriate, particularly due to the unhelpful way in which the victim was present [at the protest] and the way she was filming.

"She was asked at different stages not to film but continued to do so.

"Another factor I have to take in to account is the Twitter post that has been submitted that was posted after the case had been brought to the attention of the police and there were criminal proceedings pending.

"It was foolish of her to post that tweet in the way that she did.

"It was notable that when I asked Ms Maclachlan to refer to Ms Wolf as 'she', she did so with bad grace - having asked her to do so she continued to refer to Ms Wolf as 'he' and 'him'".

Wolf said in evidence: "Terfs have a history of taking people's pictures and posting them in pages like GenderIdentityWatch.com, a database that makes us a target for the far-right.

"It made me feel threatened because I have heard what terfs have done in the past, they take people's pictures, they put them on the internet and they dox (publish personal details about them).

"They've even been known to put people on paedophile watch websites."

She said the protesters had tried to cover their faces with placards to protect their identity.

Several police officers were present throughout the trial to prevent confrontations between the two opposing sides.

Additional reporting by the Press Association