What's in a name? Well, quite a lot if you have become obsessed with tracking down - and visiting - every street name in the country that bears your name.

And for artist Shelley Jacobs her visit to Ongar, Essex, will remain among the most memorable because not only did she get to see Shelley Close, but she also discovered that a part of the town is named after her, as well as a convenience store, Shelley Stores, and a primary school.

Recalling how she started her search for Shelley road names, she said: "When I was a kid I was quite frustrated and disappointed that I could never find any gifts - such as pens - on racks in shops with my name on, so it really started a life-long obsession."

An internet search on street map websites revealed some 288 streets in the country bearing the name Shelley, and so began what has become something of an obsession.

So far Shelley has visited and taken photographs of about 100 of the Shelley-named streets and roads, including Shelley Close in Ongar, and Shelley Grove in Loughton, one of 14 so-named roads in the country.

Shelley said: "I remember going to Shelley in Ongar and the Shelley Close there, I guess because the area is called Shelley so that was quite exciting.

"I went into the shop and asked if I could take a picture of the outside."

Shelley, 29, started her road name search in January last year as a project for her MA fine arts degree at Nottingham Trent University.

Since then it has grown and grown, but she is still some way off having visited every Shelley-associated road in the country.

And she dare not even estimate how many thousands of miles she has travelled or how much her adventures have cost in her quest to see every one of them.

Shelley, who now lives in Pinner, Middlesex, said: "l photograph every street sign in the street because each one is unique, and then I'm off to the next location. It's quite a massive project."

And at the end of it all she hopes to share her experiences with others, by exhibiting the street sign photographs.

Already she has her own website - www.findingshelley.com - which features pictures of the street signs.

And the home page of her website features a map of what must surely be her favourite Shelley - the one in Ongar.