SHELLY James has very, very long hair - it stretches down to her thighs and, without provocation, gets her into a scrape or two.

"Men seem to love long hair. Once, when I was on the bus, the man who sat behind me started to stroke it. Another time, a man actually cut a bit of my hair off. I didn't feel it, I only found out when the lady he'd been sitting next to told me," said Shelly.

Scissors and hair aren't a happy combination for the 35-year-old mother of two.

In fact, Shelly shakes at the sight of scissors when they go anywhere near her hair, which is why she's only has FOUR haircuts in her life.

Shelly, of Columbine Gardens, Greater Leys, has something of a phobia when it comes to going to the hairdressers but she's putting her fear aside for the Tobi Mills £10,000 Appeal.

"I'm already starting to break out in a cold sweat just thinking about it, but I can't think of a better cause," said Shelly.

The Oxford Mail has decided that the sponsored event, which takes place on March 5, should be something of a grand affair, so we asked top stylist Antony Licata of Mahogany to cut Shelly's locks. Antony, who is the salon's creative artistic director, is delighted to be taking on the challenge for such a great cause.

The idea for the sponsored cut came from Shelly's nine-year-old daughter Catherine.

"She used to be in the same class as Ashton Mills at Windale Primary School.

"When we heard how ill Tobi was, we knew we wanted to do something but it was Catherine who came up with the idea of having a sponsored hair cut," said Shelly.

Tobi, 43, from Blackbird Leys, has secondary cancer in her liver and has months to live. Shelly, who works as a DJ and karaoke presenter for the Oxford-based company Spotlight Entertainments, is an outgoing lady but she goes quiet when it comes to scissors and her golden locks.

She said her dread of hairdressers dates back to when she was about eight.

"Someone stuck chewing gum in my hair and I had to have it cut. The hairdresser left my hair all crooked and a lot shorter than I wanted it. I think that's what put me off." The next time she went in for the big chop was when Shelly was about 17.

"Ironically, is was at Mahogany's, at their Little Clarendon salon, not long after it opened. It was the place to have your hair cut so I decided to go along.

"The hairdresser I went to used to come into the nightclub where I worked and he was always saying he wanted to cut my hair, so I went along.

"He cut it very short and I loved it, but he left, so I let it grow."

Shelly remembers a disastrous perm before her sister's wedding which went so wrong she had to have it cut out and the fourth cut has been wiped from her memory altogether.

"I don't mind scissors. I use them every day. It's just the feeling when they grab your hair and cut a huge chunk off at the nape of your neck. It makes me shiver," said Shelly.

If you would like to sponsor Shelly, you can get a sponsorship form from the Oxford Mail. Telephone Hazel Evans on 01865 425407 for a form.

Shelly will be the official disc jockey at the kids' disco being held to raise money for the Tobi Mills £10,000 Appeal. The disco is at Blackbird Leys Neighbourhood Centre this Friday, from 7pm-9pm.

You can still pledge money on 01865 205192 or by fax on 01865 242569, or at any Lloyds Bank, quoting sort code 30-12-51 and account number 0088442. Cheques should be made payable to The Tobi Mills £10,000 Appeal.

Our picture shows Shelly James ready to snip off her hair to raise money for the Tobi Mills £10,000 Appeal.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.