DIY sex-swap man is a lesbian

THE sex-swap builder who CASTRATED himself has proudly declared: I am a LESBIAN.

Howard Shelley-now called Holli after he cut off his testicles with a kitchen knife-admits still lusting after women, but as a woman.

Posing publicly for the first time as a bobbed brunette, she said: "I still fancy women, not men, and I'm looking for a new woman in my life."

The 44-year-old took drastic DIY action after a doctor said he had to live as a woman for two years before being considered for a sex-swap op.

But the dad-of-two couldn't stand another moment as a man, so scoured the internet for a home surgery guide.

He then waited for wife Janet to go out, and-in just six minutes and without anaesthetic-sliced off his nuts and dumped them in the kitchen bin.

Without a hint of regret, Holli told the News of the World: "It's the best bit of DIY I've ever done. I instantly felt like a woman."

After a visit to hospital to tidy up his handiwork, Howard ditched his job at the women-only building firm that his wife Janet set up, kitted himself out in women's clothes and started a course of female growth hormones.

Now, two years on, Holli, of Stevenage, Herts, is thrilled with her new 38C boobs and other curves. She beamed: "I feel fantastic and look like a woman now. I love shopping, clothes and make-up and own 20 pairs of shoes in a size nine. I love wearing heels and always match my bag to my shoes."

But the radical move ruined 15 years of marriage to Janet, 44.

Holli said: "My wife was embarrassed and struggled to come to terms with it. Her confusion and anger that I hid my secret ripped our marriage apart.

"The doctors thought I was gay or a transvestite but I'd never felt comfortable in my body and in the end I couldn't live a lie any longer.

"I found a website on performing castration, sterilised everything and made a tourniquet with rubber bands. The first cut was the worst but I knew I had to do it. It was such a relief." Despite the marriage split Holli is still in touch with her two sons-one aged 17 from her first marriage and a 14-year-old with Janet.

She said: "I have obviously been through a fair bit of pain and lost my wife, but being able to step out of the door knowing I am a woman makes it worthwhile.

"I go to the same pub I always did and the lads see me as Holli now.

"Some blokes see me in my four-inch heels and flirt with me. I went to a vicars and tarts' party and had to beat them off with a stick."

Holli is about to go to Thailand to have a £5,000 full sex-change op. She said: "Having perfectly formed women's bits will be great."

And she added: "Life is fantastic as a woman."