LIFE was far from straightforward for Mark Lawson, who readily confessed to confusion over his gender.

Born a male, he was never able to accept the fact. He was "a woman trapped inside a man's body".

He spent his early years as Mark Jones, but when his mother remarried he took his stepfather Willie's surname, Lawson.

Living at Stainton Grove, near Barnard Castle, County Durham, he attended Teesdale Comprehensive School until he was 16. Even there, he struggled to keep his "real identity" inside.

In 1997, he contacted The Sun newspaper, asking them to run a story on his wish to have a sex change and his intention to assume a new name.

The paper refused to run a story when he told them he was only 15. Determined to let the world know, he then visited the Teesdale Mercury in March, lying to the reporter about his age, saying he was 16.

The newspaper ran a story, in which he said he wanted to be known as Joanne Martin, instead of Mark Jones.

He also spoke of his intention to have a sex change, claiming he planned to have the treatment at a Manchester clinic once he was 18. He said he had been saving for several years for the £7,000 surgery.

He went on to say that he had begun a course of hormone treatment after visiting a shop in Newcastle specialising in transsexualism.

He said: "I've known for a long time that something was wrong. It has taken me a while to work out what it was, but now I just want to get on with my life."

As a result of his confused state, his school work suffered, and his attendance record was described as "unsatisfactory".

Headteacher Paul Harrison remembers a quiet but troubled boy, spending much of his time at Teesdale Comprehensive alone.

He said: "He was having problems when he was at school and we arranged some specialist counselling for him. He was relatively quiet, didn't seem to have many friends, and was of average ability, though his attendance record was very poor.

"The news of the court case comes as quite a shock to the school."

Neighbours described Mark as a quiet but pleasant person. One said: "I used to see him everyday and he seemed a really nice guy, a bit quiet, but pleasant. I just can't believe he's caught up in all this.