Ananova:

A crime victims' group is outraged that a prisoner has been allowed to undergo a £20,000 sex-change and move to a women's prison.

The Victims of Crime Trust said the country should be ashamed after it emerged that David Cross - now Kelly Denise - had undergone an NHS operation.

Cross, 39, was jailed for 17 years in 1992 for a Post Office raid in which a postmaster and his baby son were injured, in Polegate, East Sussex. He is serving his time at Parkhurst Prison on the Isle of Wight.

Norman Brennan, from the Victims of Crime Trust, said: "I absolutely despair at the way the criminal justice system is heading in this country.

"Groups such as ours have to beg for few hundred pounds to give victims of serious crime counselling, yet at the drop of a hat we find that tens of thousands of pounds are being given to make the life of a criminal a little more comfortable.

"It really goes to show how much we care for the criminals and how little for the victims. This country should hang its head in shame at some of the outrageous decisions like this one."

The transsexual gunman was reportedly given his own double cell at the prison where he underwent electrolysis sessions to remove chest and leg hair.

He was allowed to make regular trips to hospital for consultations before the sex-change and doctors prescribed him female hormone drugs.

Cross is reported to be at an unidentified secure health centre awaiting a transfer to a female prison.

A spokesman for the Prison Service said: "We cannot talk about specific cases. We can confirm that prisoners requesting treatment to change their sex would be treated in line with NHS guidelines. The cost would not be born by the Prison Service."