Going to sleep every night surrounded by the eyes of nearly 500 dolls might be enough to drive most young girls off their trolley.

But Sophie Cross, from Cholsey, loves trolls so much she is attempting to set a Guinness world record for the largest private collection of the famously ugly long-haired dolls.

The 11-year-old, who goes to Cholsey Primary School, was sure she had 490 different types of troll - and an independent adjudicator has confirmed her estimate at an official count.

Now Sophie will write to the Guinness World Records in an attempt to see her collection officially recognised as the largest in the world.

She has already taken her vast collection of multi-coloured trolls, which is worth about £350, into school to show it off to her friends.

Sophie, who has not named any of the dolls, said: "I like my trolls because I like playing with their hair.

"I'm not sure how I tell them all apart, I just remember and dress them differently.

"If I see one and I'm not sure if I've got it already, I buy it anyway just in case."

The young collector has already amassed hundreds of Beanie Babies and a large number of dolls' houses.

Sophie's parents, Karen and Mark, take her to many jumble and car boot sales on the look out for new types of troll.

Mr Cross said: "She keeps them all in her bedroom in groups of different colours and quite often she has them on the floor in a spiral.

"Her brother, Matthew, had a few and she just took a shine to them.

"It was her idea to go for a world record attempt, but I have helped her contact the people from the Guinness Book of World Records."

Sophie is now trying to set up an Internet group on www.yahoo.co.uk with the aim of forming a fan club in Oxfordshire.

What are trolls Troll dolls were originally known as Leprechauns - and also as Dam dolls, Wishniks, Treasure Trolls, and Norfins.

They became one of world's biggest toy fads in the autumn of 1963.

Trolls became popular again for brief periods throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

With their brightly-coloured hair and ugly faces, they were marketed as bringing "good luck" to their owners.

The mini plastic dolls were created in 1949 by Danish woodcutter Thomas Dam.

A troll makes a brief appearance in hit animated movie Toy Story.