BOLTON is preparing to be consumed by magic and wizardry once again. The eagerly anticipated fifth Harry Potter book is due to hit the bookshelves in stores on June 21, it has just been announced.

Children in the town were ringing up bookstores early yesterday morning in an effort to secure themselves a copy of Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix.

Julian Taylor, store manager of Waterstone's in Deansgate, Bolton said: "It's been crazy. Since about 8am, three quarters of all the calls we've had have been kids, trying to reserve a copy before they go to school.

"The books obviously strike a chord with children. They're very good fun, the stories, the action, the characters; no other books capture their imagination like this."

Author JK Rowling has kept readers waiting for over two years to find out what happens next to Hogwarts' most celebrated schoolboy sorcerer.

Although the plot of the new story is a closely guarded secret, the fifth book is supposed to be darker than its predecessors and at 255,000 words, is 64,000 words longer than Harry's last tale.

The fourth Harry Potter story The Goblet of Fire, was the fastest-selling book in history, but The Order of the Phoenix has been dubbed by many as 'the world's most anticipated book.'

Stella Morris, store manager of Sweetens Bookshop in Bolton said: "It's going to be huge, definitely the biggest selling book this year.

"It's been so long awaited, and its almost a third thicker than The Goblet of Fire. It's going to be a monster."