MOVIE fans were once again enchanted by the magic of Harry Potter over the weekend after the opening of the latest blockbuster film.

The Chamber of Secrets - the follow-up to last year's smash hit The Philosopher's Stone - opened on Friday night to huge audiences across the region.

Both the MetroCentre cinema complex, at Gateshead, and the UGC Cinema, in Middlesbrough, reported record advance sales.

And the boy wizard also cast his spell over cinema-goers in Darlington, with the Odeon, in Northgate, reporting a successful opening for the film.

Duty manager Vicky Grice said yesterday: "Our 1.30pm performance on Saturday was a complete sell-out and others have been nearly full."

The all-star cast includes Richard Griffiths, of Thornaby, Teesside, who plays Harry's uncle. Scenes were filmed in Durham and Northumberland.

Among the film's many fans are those at the Mount School, in York, where pupils donned the costumes of their favourite characters to raise cash for charity.

Dozens of Professor Dumbledores, Hermiones and Ron Weasleys have been parading through the grounds in a scene straight out of Hogwarts.

Staff joined in the fun, which involved both senior pupils and also youngsters at Tregelles Junior School.

Pupils were fined for not wearing school uniform, the money going to school charity Send A Cow, which aims to increase self- sufficient livestock farming in East Africa.