Woman tries for record with 20-year dreads

DAVENPORT, Fla., Oct. 22 (UPI) -- A Davenport, Fla., woman said she is seeking to have her dreadlocks, which she has been growing for 20 years, verified by Guinness World Records.

Asha Mandela, 46, said the longest of her locks measures 8 feet, 9 inches long and she is hoping the mass of hair will prove long enough to qualify for the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest dreadlocks on the planet, the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel reported Wednesday.

Ryan Spinella, executive assistant to the city administrator of Longwood, Fla., was one of the witnesses on hand to verify the measuring of Mandela's locks.

"I couldn't say what to compare it with. Just a lot of hair," Spinella said. "You don't believe it until you measure it, really."

Mandela, who is originally from Trinidad, said she first cut all of her hair off and began growing the 20-year dreads while she was living in New York. She said she occasionally considers cutting the dreadlocks but she has become too attached to the style to let it go.

"As much as I love it, I get frustrated with it," she said. "But then I realize I'd feel naked without it."