By Morwenna Blake

SEMI-NUDE cellists are not a familiar sight to many of us, but more so to Tim James.

Mr James is a freelance composer who works from the attic of his Westbury home.

This summer he was joined by two senior BBC executives, who commissioned him to produce jingles for BBC Wiltshire Sound, and a cellist who plays in his underpants.

Mr James said: "One of the most important components of the whole arrangement was the part featuring the cello.

"It was bad enough trying to get the musician's cello into the loft. But what I didn't realise until we were up there, was that for reasons of comfort, he prefers to play in a state of undress."

Mr James, who is originally from Exeter, lived and worked in London for many years, composing for and performing with various bands.

In 1996 he and his family decided to leave the city. He said: "I wanted to move back to the west country, where I originally came from, but Westbury was as far as I got."

He created his company, Bespoke Music, eight years ago so he could work from home and spend more time with his three young children. His music has been featured on radio and television up and down the country.

In October BBC Wiltshire Sound launched a new service to provide greater coverage of north and west Wiltshire.

Mr James said: "I really enjoyed the job and it makes a nice change to be asked to do work for a radio station in the area where I live."

BBC spokesman Steve Martin said it was great to work with a local composer and Mr James had done a fantastic job.