THE Lord of the Rings may be breaking box office records, but the films have not turned North-west teenagers on to Tolkien's original books.

In a snapshot survey by educational publisher Letts Educational, teenagers studying for their GCSEs were asked if including the famous trilogy in their courses would enhance their interest in English Literature.

They were split almost down the middle. Of those who responded, 43 per cent said it would not, while 42 per cent said it would. Five per cent were not sure.

Letts Educational's Peter Stafford said: "With the massive success of the films, we were quite surprised by the outcome of the vote.

"We did think all the interest in Lord of the Rings would have had most teenagers clamouring to put the books on their reading lists."