For decades it has been an oasis for women wishing to swim and sunbathe away from the prying eyes of men.

But now the famous Ladies’ Pond on London’s Hampstead Heath will no longer be a haven preserved for women after a controversial ruling allowed men transitioning to be women to bathe there.

Regular users of the tranquil fresh water pond – used by famous names such as actress Helena Bonham Carter, comedian Rhona Cameron and novelist Esther Freud – have complained in recent months that men who identify as women and wore female bathing clothes were using the pond.

The famous Ladies’ Pond on London’s Hampstead Heath will no longer be a haven preserved for women after a controversial ruling has allowed men transitioning to be women to use it

One veteran swimmer, Margaret Roberts, told how in one incident she asked a Spanish male who claimed to identify as a woman but ‘looked and dressed like a man’ to leave, but he refused.

She also described how fellow pond users were ‘appalled’ when a ‘young man’ wearing a bikini, who also said he was transitioning to become a woman, came to use the pond this summer.

Further controversy was caused when a woman who is transitioning to be a man called for the pond to be made ‘gender fluid’, Ms Roberts said.

This week, a spokesman for the City of London Corporation which manages the lake, confirmed to the MoS that men transitioning to women will be allowed to use the pond and the female changing rooms.

Further controversy was caused when a woman who is transitioning to be a man called for the pond to be made ‘gender fluid’, a veteran swimmer said

But last night, female bathers responded with outrage at the prospect of transitioning men being admitted to their ‘special sanctuary’ – despite there being a men’s and a mixed pond available to use on the Heath.

Ms Roberts, who has been swimming in the open-air waters for 32 years, said: ‘I and many others are threatened by having to have essentially “cross dressers” come to the pond and openly use our private space. Women have few private spaces and we have had to fight many times to keep the pond open.

‘Can men not allow women to have any private space?’

The pond is used by famous names such as actress Helena Bonham Carter (left) and novelist Esther Freud (right)

Julie Bindel, a feminist writer who has also been swimming at the pond for more than three decades, added: ‘It is totally unacceptable to allow men who identify as women, but who are otherwise male bodied and socialised as men, to be in a women-only space. I have seen mothers bring their young daughters who are self-conscious about their bodies but want to feel good about swimming and exposing their skin to the sun. The last thing they want is to look behind them and see a male-bodied person pretending to be a woman in order to gawp at them.’

The City of London Corporation spokesman said: ‘Over the last year all lifeguards and managers at Hampstead Heath ponds have taken transgender awareness training courses, which have been offered to, and taken by, the ponds’ swimming associations as well.

‘We are working with the LGBTQ community to ensure our facilities are fit to serve the needs of everyone who enjoys them, and will continue to do so in the future.’