A FORMER married man now living as a woman has launched a High Court bid for a groundbreaking ruling that she is entitled to have her birth certificate altered to reflect "the truth" of her real identity.

Lawyers for Paula Wilhemina Ryder, 53, asked for permission to seek judicial review of the Registrar General's refusal to allow any alteration.

Ms Ryder, from Henknowle, Bishop Auckland, County Durham, wants either to be re-registered as female after undergoing gender reassignment surgery, or at least to have some marginal note added to the certificate reflecting the fact that she is living as a woman.

Lawyers for the Registrar told Mr Justice Lightman, sitting in London, that her case was unarguable because "the register of births is a historical register of fact".

Helen Mountfield, representing the Registrar, said at present there was no measure in law which permitted any subsequent change of gender identity to be recorded on the register.

But Sally Bradley QC, for Ms Ryder, argued the Registrar's approach amounted to a breach of human rights.

She said: "The refusal represents an out-dated and narrow approach to an issue which is treated sympathetically by society.

"She lives as a female, she appears female, she dresses as a female. Her sexual orientation she would consider hetrosexual, in that she is attracted to males and her sexual partners are male."

Soon after birth Ms Ryder was recorded on her birth certificate as a male baby named Paul. But - her barrister argued - Ms Ryder became aware throughout childhood, in particular puberty, that he felt he was more female than male.

In 1979, he married a woman but had difficulties in the sexual aspect of the relationship. In 1994, after the death of his wife, he began to have psychosexual counselling and gender reassignment surgery took place in January 1999.

The judge said he would announce whether he will allow the challenge to go to a full hearing next week, probably Wednesday