BOOKWORMS went potty in Preston at the weekend as the new craze to sweep the nation hit town centre bookstores.

Saturday morning (July 8) marked the start of Harry Potter-mania as youngsters huddled outside Waterstones book shop, in Fishergate, for a glimpse of the new book about a young wizard's adventures.

Even the dismal weather was not enough to dampen the spirits of dozens of excited young ones who turned up in the rain to join the queue before the shop had even opened.

But it was lucky John Bargh, 14, from Clitheroe, who charged through the shop doors just after 9am and became the first person in Waterstones to get his hands on a copy of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

More than 1,000 copies of the children's novel were secretly delivered to the store on Friday morning and placed under 'top secret' wraps.

And, by the end of the first day of selling, only 100 copies remained on the shelves making the 640-page book the hottest selling product ever to have been sold in Waterstones. To launch the best-seller the store put on a Harry Potter's Party with book quizzes for all its young guests.

And, Preston schoolgirl Rachel Berlinson, nine, from Deepdale scooped a special golden ticket to meet the author, Joanne Rowling, after entering a colouring competition at the store several weeks ago.

She was one of the lucky few to have her copy hand delivered to her at midnight on Friday before travelling to Manchester onboard the famous steam train, Hogwart's Express, to meet the author.

This is the fourth Harry Potter book in the series and continues the story of an orphan who has inherited magical powers.

One million copies were made available to British bookshops and an estimated 250,000 copies were sold within the first three days of its release -- more than doubling the success of the previous biggest seller by cookery connoisseur Delia Smith.

Pictured is Potter fan Samantha Carter, 11, from Leyland with a copy of the new book.