Summer Mendes was subjected to cruel homophobic taunts and accusations of being a witch when she first made her transformation five years ago.

But now the 47-year-old has made the bravest decision of her life by becoming a woman and said she is “finally happy” with who she is.

She is in the process of taking hormones and is on the waiting list for a sex-change operation.

Speaking from her practice in Glasgow, the remarkable woman said she had always known she was born in the wrong body and now hopes to encourage others to speak out.

“I want to speak out now so that people can realise how traumatic it can be for someone coming to terms with their identity,” a tearful Summer said.

“At my lowest point I did something stupid because I was always trying to push away who I really was, it was horrible.

“Something snapped inside of me one day and I just became Summer. I walked away from my old life and never looked back.” At just three-years-old Summer — who does not wish to reveal her original identity — knew she was meant to be born female.

But it wasn’t until she was in her 20s she began to embrace her true identity by growing her hair and wearing women’s clothes.

“I was in a few relationships and I was always honest about who I was, but they kept telling me I had to dress as a woman in secret,” Summer revealed.

“I hid who I was just to please other people for such a long time. I was deeply depressed.” Summer, originally of Johnstone, had many dark thoughts but said, with the help and support of her friends, she began to feel more comfortable with her body.

She told The Gazette: “People need to wake up and realise that transgender people are here for a reason. You live your life as you, it’s a new beginning and it’s a hard beginning.

“There were some tough times but people should never be afraid to be who they are.

“I’m very lucky that people in Scotland have been very accepting of me. They are wonderful.” In 2013 that she officially underwent treatment to become a woman. She now works as a psychic medium in Variety Stores in Glasgow, Argyle Street.

And she gives tremendous praise to the local police force who she said helped to save her life so many times.

“The police have been amazing and they have saved my life more than once, if it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be around. The biggest acceptance is yourself at first, you need to accept who you are first before you can come into this world and become a different person.

“All I want to do is just make people aware that we are around in this world, sometimes it’s just nice for people to smile and accept us.

“Luckily I have some of the most amazing friends in the world that don’t judge me. It was the best day of my life when I got treatment to become the real me.” Summer said bigotry would always exist, but added that Scotland offers “the best support” for those who are transgender.

“I’ve lived in a few different countries but the medical support here in Scotland is brilliant,” Summer said. It really is the place to be, the NHS here are the best at dealing with transgender support.

“There are so many lovely people here too. People can be a bit shocked when they come in my work to meet me at first but then, after a short while, they begin to see the person inside.

“I love being Summer. I’m very lucky to be me.” David Gerber, clinical lead of the Gender Unit at Sandyford Clinic, said: “Transgender people do face discrimination but attitudes are changing.

“With people like Summer speaking out about this it will help to improve the amount of support from transgender peple out there.”