#News: A transgender woman who was sent to a men's prison has lost an appeal against her sentence.

Image copyrightJackie Brooklyn

Image captionTara Hudson was sent to an all male prison after admitting assault

A transgender woman who was sent to a men's prison has lost an appeal against her sentence.

Tara Hudson, 26, from Bath, was jailed and placed at the all-male HMP Bristol for 12 weeks after admitting assault.

Her case prompted a campaign, backed by thousands of supporters, to get her moved.

During an appeal hearing at Bristol Crown Court, the judge asked for consideration to be made about where she serves her sentence.

Image copyrightJackie Brooklyn

Image captionHudson has had reconstructive surgery but is still legally a man

The Recorder of Bristol, Llewelyn Sellick, said Hudson had a "worrying criminal record" which contained "numerous offences".

"It is for the prison service and not the court to establish where a sentence should be served," he added.

More than 140,000 people have signed petitions calling for her to be moved, with supporters claiming she has been placed in danger of sexual violence.

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Transgender prison rules

• Prisoners should be placed according to their gender "as recognised by UK law" - usually as stated on their birth certificate
• If a person has obtained a "gender recognition certificate", they will have a new birth certificate in their "acquired gender"
• Prisoners who obtain a gender recognition certificate while in prison "should in most cases be transferred to the estate of their acquired gender"
• But the rules also say some transgender people will be "sufficiently advanced in the gender reassignment process" that they could be placed "in the estate of their acquired gender, even if the law does not yet recognise they are of their acquired gender"
• Where issues arise, a "case conference" should be held to "review the prisoner's individual circumstances and make a recommendation"

Source: The Care and Management of Transsexual Prisoners, Ministry of Justice website

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Hudson has had reconstructive surgery and lived as a woman all her adult life but is still legally a man.

Last Friday, the make-up artist was jailed after she admitted headbutting a barman in Bath, causing damage to his teeth.

She has eight previous convictions including offences for battery and had hoped her punishment would be less severe.

But magistrates said the assault, which came three weeks after Hudson had been given a conditional discharge, was so serious that only custody could be justified.

She was sent to HMP Bristol, which holds around 600 men.