THE silver-haired man, propped on his walking stick, stared at the snaking queue and shook his head.

"What's all this," he said, to no-one in particular. "Is the new Harry Potter out or something?"

The Northern Echo newspaper bill, on the other side of Darlington's High Row, explained all. "Northern Rock in funding crisis," it read. The queue, more than 100-people strong by 9.30am, needed no reminding.

Colin Wilson, from Newton Aycliffe, was one of the tense tail-back. "I picked up my paper this morning, had a look, then put it on the table," he said.

"Quarter of an hour later I looked at it again. I thought I'd better come down here. I'm going to try to take money out."

Kevin Fowler, of Darlington, also hoped to withdraw money. "You look at this queue, and it's this long - what will it be like at other branches?

"This is just one branch. It will probably be worse elsewhere."

The queue kept multiplying. FlamingoLand wouldn't have had a longer line yesterday.

Television and radio crews darted in and out - the global credit squeeze never seemed so interesting.

Brian Morrison, of Darlington, did not worry when he saw the morning news. But, when the queue doubled in the 20 minutes he was inside the Indoor Market, he thought again.

"Well, you worry don't you?" he said. "If you think other people are worried, you think: shouldn't I be worried too?"

Not every Northern Rock customer was concerned. Veteran Darlington councillor Bill Stenson, at the front of the queue at 9.30am, was calm. "I think it's the media, getting people excited," he said with a smile. "We're only here to get money for the weekend."

Jane Montague, from Darlington, said while walking past: "I'm a borrower, an investor, and a shareholder - and I'm not worried. The fact the Bank of England has offered to lend them money is the best guarantee you can get."

With hundreds of people withdrawing thousands of pounds, The Big Issue seller, in his usual spot by the Northern Rock, looked optimistic. The Salvation Army collector was more grounded. "I haven't noticed any more donations," he said.

By 1pm, the queue remained, ordered but anxious. It was like Harvey Nichols on Boxing Day, except no one had camped overnight.

Passers-by looked on in amazement. Some even used camera phones, although it is doubtful "Orderly Queue Outside Darlington Building Society" will become a YouTube classic.

One woman pensioner, amazed by the scene, said: "I come here every Friday and I've never seen anything like this.

"I am very concerned, but I can't take my money out straight away because I have to give notice. Why haven't we been told before this? They must have known.

"They sponsor a lot of charities and sports teams so what is going to happen to that?"

By 5pm, the queue was down to 30. It stretched just past the Northern Rock cash machine, which remained untouched. People wanted more than £350.

The branch stayed open, long past closing time, to deal with the final few. Keith Green, from Darlington, decided to visit after seeing the local news.

"They tell you not to panic, but then you see hundreds of people in the queues," he said. "I didn't panic, but then everyone else is, so you think - well I'd better panic too."

Another customer, who asked not to be named, said: "I was worried they'd shut at 5pm. If they had, this place would have been stormed."

Which, presumably, would have rounded off the staff's Day From Hell.

One female passer-by asked what the fuss was about. "The Northern Rock have had to borrow four-and-a-half billion quid off the Bank of England," replied a man in the queue.

"Four-and-a-half billion quid?" the woman said.

"I might ask if they can lend me some."