More than 70 children aged just three or four have been referred to the NHS's transgender clinc it has been revealed.

Official figures indicate that dozens of children not yet of school age have been referred to the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) over the past decade.

The revelation has sparked fury from campaigners and parents alike, with demands for a change in the way that cases are dealt with.

Former health minister Jackie Doyle-Price criticised the referrals saying the clinic "should never have been seeing three-year-olds".

"There needs to be a clear message that goes out to let kids be kids," she told the Daily Mail.

"Let them play and use their imaginations. We shouldn't be medicalising something which is just growing up."