Harry Potter fans enjoyed a spellbinding night of magical fun to celebrate the release of the latest installment in the wizarding series.

The eagerly-awaited script of the new play, Harry Potter And The Cursed Child Parts One And Two, went on sale this weekend, and Waterstones in Castle Street, Norwich, was one of many places across the country to hold a special event to mark the occasion.

On Saturday night Harry Potter fans dressed up in their wizarding robes and enjoyed playing Quidditch, finding horcruxes, and taking part in other magical activities at the shop before the book was released on the chime of midnight.

Debra Chapman, senior bookseller at the store, said between 400 and 500 people attended the event.

'It was fantastic. I have never seen so many people dressed up in Hogwarts uniforms outside of Hogwarts,' she said.

'The queue to collect the book went round the ground floor once and a half, up the stars and halfway round the first floor, but we managed to get everybody their book in 17 minutes. It was just so lovely, you could see how genuinely excited people were at being able to step into the Harry Potter world again.'

The latest book is the script of a new original story by JK Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne. The play - which stars Norfolk actors Sam Clemmett and Poppy Miller - also officially opened on Saturday in London's West End.

Set 19 years after the events of the seventh and final book, The Cursed Child brings back Harry Potter, now grown up and an employee at the Ministry of Magic.

Harry and his wife Ginny Weasley wave their youngest son Albus Severus, named after former Hogwarts headmaster Professor Dumbledore and potions guru Professor Snape, off to their old wizarding school.

Once there, Albus struggles with the weight of his family legacy and goes to extreme and dangerous lengths to right the wrongs of the past.