A POLICE force which was once embroiled in a sexist initiation scandal has announced it has employed two transsexual officers.

Sergeant Nicola Lamb - who was previously known as Chris - faced the media at a news conference only days after officers were told their male colleague would be turning up to work as a woman.

The 49-year-old blonde smiled throughout the 30-minute press conference but refused to answer questions.

Miss Lamb sat alongside North Yorkshire's Chief Constable, David Kenworthy, at the force's headquarters at Newby Wiske, near Northallerton.

Kathy Anderson, the force's diversity advisor, said Miss Lamb has the medical condition gender dysphoria, which affects one in 10,000 men.

North Yorkshire Police employ another transsexual, and Essex Police employ two, said Ms Anderson.

But not all police forces are as open-minded.

The West Yorkshire force is awaiting the outcome of a tribunal in London where another transsexual has sued, alleging she was barred from joining because of her sex change.

Two North Yorkshire police officers were disciplined over the way they handled allegations of sexual harassment and initiation rights at Harrogate CID in 1996.

Accusations included rooky detectives being forced to run around the police station with bulldog clips attached to their nipples in an initiation ceremony, and one officer being forced to sit in a dog kennel for wearing a brightly-coloured shirt.