Hair today gone tomorrow

It was a fear which lasted a decade and left him with a mane of hair more than 2ft long.

But after relentless teasing, 12-year-old James Marshall has finally conquered his aversion to a hair cut and sports a David Beckhamstyle crop.

The schoolboy's resistance to a trim started when he was only two.

His mother Tracey Gwilliams, 43, said: "He took an aversion to the barber's. I have no idea what put him off. He would get out of the chair and wouldn't go back."

James, from Washington, Tyne and Wear, held out for ten years before the taunts became too much.

"I asked for a David Beckham cut," he said. "It was a bit scary but I quite like it. The back of my neck's a bit cold though."

His cut hair has been plaited and will be auctioned for charity.