Potter sales smash record

The Potter bandwagon has made JK Rowling a multi-millionaire

The latest Harry Potter book has shot into the record books by selling more than a third of a million copies on its first day - shattering the previous record.

Harry Potter And The Goblet of Fire sold 372,775 copies in the UK on Saturday, almost as many as its predecessor did in a year.

These girls were among the first to pick up a copy in London

The figures, from industry analysts Whitaker BookTrack, showed 256,246 copies were sold in bookshops, with the remainder sold online or through newspaper deals.

The previous sales record was for Delia Smith's How To Cook Book 2, which sold 110,425 copies in its first three days.

A spokeswoman for Whitaker BookTrack said: "It's the biggest thing we've ever dealt with. It's just been absolutely fantastic.

"We were expecting a three-figure number, but even so, this is amazing."

The third book in the series, Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban, sold 68,159 copies in its first two-and-a-half days in July 1999, selling just under 400,000 in 12 months.

A paperback version, published this April, has now chalked up just under 300,000 sales.

Harry Potter is a hit with all ages

For its follow-up, book shops across the UK opened late on Friday to be able to sell the first copies at midnight, while thousands pre-ordered copies through internet retailers.

Author JK Rowling has been on a tour of the UK signing copies of The Goblet Of Fire, which is twice the length of its predecessor.

Her four Potter books have dominated the best seller charts for the past year, both in the UK and in the US.

Meanwhile, Warner Brothers has signed a multi-million pound mechandising deal with Lego for the forthcoming Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone film.

The toys are expected to hit shop shelves next year, to tie in with the late 2001 US release of the film, which is being made by Home Alone director Chris Columbus.

Filming begins later this year, although the cast has not yet been finalised.