How Malcolm the tough-guy Marine turned into Bulgarian Miss Margaret

So when a genteel woman called Margaret McPherson, who looked uncannily like the ex-marine, moved into his house several months later they assumed she was his sister.

But Mr and Miss McPherson were one and the same.

The former Warrant Officer had decided that, along with a change of home, he would have a change of gender.

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Transformation: Margaret in her new home in Bulgaria, where she says her neighbours took a while to get used to her appearance

Miss McPherson, 64, served with the Royal Marines – undergoing their tough commando training – and with the Intelligence Corps in Northern Ireland at the height of the Troubles.

These photographs show her dramatic change from a tough, bearded soldier – who also spent 17 years training the Sultan of Oman's forces – to a quiet, unassuming woman.

In one, the camouflage-clad soldier poses casually in the desert, clutching an Austrian-made Steyr AUG while on patrol near the disputed Yemeni border in the Eighties.

The other photograph, taken last week, shows a woman in a plaid skirt sitting comfortably at home surrounded by ornaments and knick-knacks.

When she bought the house in August 2006, she was still living as a man and told estate agents and locals about her military career.

But when she returned in July last year, she had decided to live as a woman.

"At first everyone thought I was the sister of the man who had been there the year before," said Miss McPherson.

"When I first saw the local doctor as a woman he said, 'You look like your brother.'

"I explained about changing and I thought he understood, but maybe he didn't. I think everyone understands now but initially it was confusing for them.

"I don't advertise the fact that I have changed sex but people have realised and they've been friendly.

"Some of the older ones look at me a bit warily as I go by, but they do that to all strangers. I haven't experienced any hostility."

Her house illustrates her 13-year military career, with regimental plaques lining the walls, as well as a commando dagger mounted alongside the cap badges of the Royal Marines and the Intelligence Corps.

Miss McPherson, who has an adult daughter from a previous marriage, has not undergone any medical treatment to change gender.

She was advised by her doctor that it could have serious health implications at her age.

"I made the change on my 64th birthday and I feel very happy now," she added.

"A lot of us have been in the military because we try to suppress our longing by doing the most macho thing possible."