THE mother of a transsexual killed after stepping into a busy main road today blamed bullies for the death of her 'brilliant' daughter.

An inquest yesterday recorded an open verdict on 24-year-old Paula Greenall, despite hearing how she said she was going to take her own life.

And after the hearing her mother, Carole, said her daughter's life was taken by the 'cruel and thoughtless' bullies who tormented her about her sexuality for a decade, driving her to drugs.

The inquest heard that Paula said she was going to kill herself the day she died, but that she had said it before as "a cry for help".

Mrs Greenall, 47, of Millbrook Close in Wheelton, near Blackburn, said: "The last 10 years have been a living hell because of people's attitudes to her. People are so small-minded. To be a transsexual is a birth defect."

Paula was struck by a Land Rover Defender on the A674 Wheelton by-pass, close to the Dressers Arms pub, in Blackburn Road, Wheelton, last September 3.

Born a boy, and christened Paul, the teenager realised he was different at 14-years-old, Carole said. After a trip to the family GP Carole took her son to London to see specialists and Paul underwent the full sex change operation in 2002.

But Carole said Paula, who went to Chorley's Brinscall St John's junior school and Albany High School, was bullied constantly.

She said: "When it all came out at 14 I had to take her out of school. She had home tuition for about two years, but there are only certain subjects she could do at home.

"I want to say to these people that I don't feel it was a car or drugs which killed her. It was because of attitudes to her. They were so cruel and thoughtless. People should be educated more."

A spokesman for the Gender Trust, a national charity, said cases like Paula's are becoming less common as people become more accepting.

The spokesman said: "Fortunately today there is plenty of help and support for transsexual people and the law is often able to support people who suffer from bullying. There is more awareness on behalf of the general public of the situation for transsexual people. People are less likely to bully somebody if they understand what is going on with them - that they have a medical condition."

Before her death Paula, who had one brother and two sisters, had been living with her partner Gemma Worthington in Long Acre, Clayton Brook, and had been taking drugs, including heroin, and been prescribed methadone for the past four years. The inquest was told Paula had taken medication and had been drinking with Gemma on the day she died.

The pair, who had been involved in an argument with each other earlier that day, were seen near the Wheelton by-pass in the early evening after getting the bus to Paula's mother's. In a statement to the inquest, Ms Worthington said Paula went hysterical after chipping her tooth. "She was obsessed with her looks," she said.

She suffered multiple injuries after being knocked down and died later in Chorley Hospital.

The inquest heard the driver, Raymond Dewhurst, 55, of West End, Oswaldtwistle, said he had not noticed anybody on the footpath shortly before the collision. As he approached the spot he said he heard "a sort of a shudder and bump".

Coroner Howard McCann said there was still doubt about Paula's state of mind as the Land Rover approached, but said: "I'm not saying Paula has done anything deliberately to herself."