THE agonising wait is over for millions of Harry Potter fans as the fifth book charting the adventures of the boy wizard finally hit the shelves.

Pottermania was at fever pitch in the early hours of this morning as devotees swamped book stores, hoping to be the first to get their hands on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Some shops in the region began selling the book at 12.01am and others were opening their doors earlier than usual today to cater for the unprecedented demand.

The excitement surrounding JK Rowling's latest epic led many shops to step up security ahead of the stampede.

At Bookcase, in Chester-le-Street, County Durham, owner Eileen Smith hired bouncers for the first time as she held a Potter party last night for fans.

The sense of anticipation had already been enhanced by reviews of leaked copies of the book calling it "an engrossing read".

White Rose Books in Thirsk, North Yorkshire, also held a pre-release party and owner Sue Lake reported brisk business as the midnight hour passed, predicting few of the shop's 250 copies would be left.

She said: "The shop is absolutely heaving, packed out with people wanting to get their hands on this book."

Ottakar's, in Darlington, has taken 1,000 orders for the book and has every member of staff at work today. Manager Diane O'Neill said: "It just seems to be so much bigger than the last one, it is absolutely unbelievable."

TheWH Smith store in Middlesbrough's Cleveland Centre has 1,500 orders, more than any of the firm's other stores in the North.

Stores in Stockton, Redcar and Hartlepool also have hundreds of copies held for eager customers.

The novel is on course to become one of the fastest-selling and most profitable in history.

It has already broken Internet sales records, with more than a million orders received by Amazon.