Nurses suing their employer for allowing trans women to use their changing rooms

Eight nurses are suing their employer for sexual harassment and sex discrimination because of a policy which allows trans women to use their women's changing rooms.

The legal action began after 26 nurses wrote to County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust raising their concerns in March.

The nurses, who work at Darlington Memorial Hospital, must change in and out of their scrubs twice a day with no private cubicles.

They claim some international nurses wanted to sign the letter but were too worried about having their visas revoked and losing their jobs.

Bethany Hutchison, one of the claimants, says they have felt unsafe as a result of a male staff member who identifies as a woman and has not transitioned.

She said: "There's been occasions where I've been in the changing room alone with this colleague who looks very masculine and that was a real shock because you feel you want to challenge them, you think, 'Oh there's a man in the changing room' but you can't because of the trust's policy."