Britain's youngest sex swap patient has resorted to working as an escort - to pay for her treatment. Rihanna Cooper, 21, from Hull, hit the headlines when, at 16, she became the youngest person in Britain to be accepted for gender reassignment. But part way through her treatment, the stress of her transition from male to female became too much and she  called a halt to it. Scroll down for video . Transgender woman Rihanna Cooper, 21, is paying for her gender reassignment herself . Now, having realised she can't go on as a man again and having to  pay for her treatment privately, Rihanna is working as an escort to fund her dreams. She said: 'Working as an escort can be dangerous and frightening. It's exhausting sometimes too. 'But it's the only way I have of earning enough money to become a woman.' Her initial treatment, and her subsequent decision to abandon the reassignment programme, sparked huge debate over whether she was too young to be allowed to swap sexes in the first place. But Rihanna insists that her decision was the right one - and blames NHS psychiatrists and doctors for clouding her focus. Rihanna was born Bradley Cooper in January 1994, and grew up with her mum, Elaine, 46, and three sisters, Claire, now 29, Katy, 26, and Sophie, 23. Born Bradley Cooper, Rihanna realised she was born in the wrong body and at 16 was accepted for treatment . Rihanna says: 'From an early age, I wanted to play with my sisters' Barbie dolls. My mum bought me Action men but I wasn't interested. 'I used to love watching her put make-up on. I was always stealing her lipstick. 'At school, my friends were all girls and I loved playing netball. 'I knew I had been born in the wrong body and I wanted so desperately to be a girl. 'I was an angry kid, because I was so confused, and though I was never bullied, I got into trouble, and I ended up expelled from school.' At 15, she announced that she wanted to become a girl. She says: 'It was hardly a shock. My family had always known. My mum and sisters were very supportive.' At 16, Rihanna was referred for specialist psychiatric assessments and she began dressing and living as a girl, painting her nails and growing her hair. However Rihanna, pictured centre with her mother and sister, said she actually wanted to be a boy part way through her NHS treatment - sparked huge debate over whether she was too young to be allowed . But Rihanna blames NHS medics for clouding her focus - and says she does want to be a woman . Her story hit the press as she became Britain's youngest sex-swap patient. But she rebelled against the treatment programme. She says: 'I hated the psychiatric treatment. I felt as though I was being made to justify why I wanted to be a girl, like they wanted to catch me out almost. 'I knew I was a girl inside, and to me, it was that simple.' At 17, she began a course of hormone injections but stopped the treatment after two suicide attempts. She says: 'The whole thing just got on top of me. I was sick of travelling to my appointments where I felt everyone was trying to catch me out and trip me up. 'I felt so alone, so isolated. I just wanted to be happy. My treatment caused a lot of stress in my family and I just wanted everything to go back to how it was.' Her full transgender op, scheduled for January 2013, was called off and she returned to living as a young man - but says she soon realised she could not live a lie. She is now saving to pay for gender reassignment privately, using her work as an escort to fund her surgery. She is now saving to pay for gender reassignment privately, using her work as an escort to fund her surgery . Rihanna hasn't asked the NHS to fund this reassignment, and doubts they would, because she pulled out last time. She also feels the psychiatric assessments were too invasive and the NHS programme was too invasive, so she wants to fund it herself. First on her list is a £4,500 breast enlargement, followed by surgery to remove her male genitalia. Rihanna says: 'I've always wanted to be a girl and that has never changed. I was born in the wrong body. 'My work as an escort is not ideal, but it is virtually impossible for me to get any kind of work, because of the stigma which surrounds transgender people. I see this as my only chance to fulfil my dreams.' The following is part on an NHS guide . If your child is under 18 and thought to have gender dysphoria, they will usually be referred to a specialist child and adolescent Gender Identity Clinic (GIC). Currently, the only specialist clinic for young people with gender identity issues is run by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust in London, although they occasionally provide satellite clinics in other parts of the country. Staff at these clinics can carry out a detailed assessment of your child, to help them determine what support they need. SOURCE .
Rihanna Cooper, 21, from Hull, is working as an escort to pay for genital op .
Became the youngest person in Britain to be accepted for sex swap at 16 .
Part way through treatment, she decided she actually wanted to be a boy .
She had hormone injections but stopped treatment after 2 suicide attempts .
Now she says she does want to be a woman and is paying for her treatment .