HOSPITAL receptionist Julia Baines is terrified of water - and sharks. So what better way, she thought, to raise cash for charity than swimming with them!

The 44-year-old's daredevil feat will be the latest in a personal crusade to help the Christie Hospital adult leukaemia unit, in Manchester, which provided life-saving treatment for her husband Mick.

Mick, 44, of Bolton Road, Abbey Village, near Blackburn, was first diagnosed with leukaemia in 1997 and repeated courses of chemotherapy forced him to quit work as a security guard at Express Gifts, in Church.

For five years he continued to fight the disease, knowing his only hope of recovery was finding a matching bone marrow donor. And in late 2000, one was finally found - a one in a million chance - after the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust tracked a blood-match in America. The bone marrow was flown to Britain and injected into Mick.

And just last week Mick, who is now in remission, was able to stop taking the drugs that helped him recover.

But his recovery has not stopped Julia, who works in the accident and emergency department in Chorley Hospital, from raising money any way she can for the unit - which receives no Government funding.

Swimming with sharks at the Blue Planet Aquarium, in Cheshire, though, is her scariest venture yet. She said: "I am absolutely terrified. I feed the fish in my tank at home and when they get near that's bad enough, nevermind sharks!

"I have always been scared of swimming too and have to stay close to the side if we go to our local baths for fear of sinking."

But Julia will not be alone. Her son Andrew, 22, his best pal, Paul Holland, and Dawn Hilton, a staff nurse in A&E, are also taking the plunge.

The group will come face-to-face with the fearsome Tiger Shark, reputed to be responsible for numerous deaths at sea, the Sand Shark and the Sting Ray.

Although Julia has had to sign disclaimers due to the unpredictably of the sharks, she is still laughing about it. She quipped: "Some people have said that if we don't come back they won't have to pay the sponsorship. But there is too much money involved in it now to back out."

The four will do the dive on February 22. To sponsor Julia and help raise £1,000, call 01254 831352.