A LAW student who swapped the courtroom for a life of magic has been hailed a success.

Matthew Dowden was voted Close-up Magician of the Year by his peers in the Newcastle Magic Circle.

Close-up magic is based on sleight of hand and card tricks, all performed within inches of the audience.

The 24-year-old impressed the judges with an audacious trick that involves spinning a card up into the air, then making it land between two chosen cards in a deck.

"It took thousands of hours to master," he said. "Just getting the card to fly right in the air took so much work."

For Mr Dowden, of St James Village, Gateshead, the Magic Circle's accolade is confirmation that he has made the right career choice.

He graduated with a law degree from Northumbria University in 2002 - but, rather than join a legal firm, he became a professional magician.

"I became interested in magic during the second year of my degree and it soon became an obsession," he said. "By the end, I was doing more magic than law."

He made contacts at the Magic Box shop, in Newcastle, and joined the city's Magic Circle, before turning professional.

Already, he has performed to the likes of Newcastle United manager Sir Bobby Robson and Sky TV presenter Kirsty Gallagher.

He is now working on a stage act to take to the region's theatres.

Rather than pursue the traditional route of balancing the books by doing children's parties, he is carving out a career working at trade fairs.

"My job is representing a company, attracting people to its stand with the tricks, then holding their attention while telling them about a product or service," he said. "It works really well - people enjoy the tricks and remember the company."