Another little touch of Harry.

Byline: By Sam Wonfor Arts And Entertainment

The sun may have been shining brightly yesterday but thousands of devotees to the fantasy world of Hogwarts were happy to spend a large slice of the Bank Holiday in a darkened room.

Copious helpings of popcorn, hot dogs, ice cream cones and excitement were the order of the day as the third instalment in the life of J K Rowling's teenage wizard wove its magic and dominated silver screens all over the North-East.

And there was no shortage of fans to take up the chance to be some of the first to see how Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban translated from the pages to the film reels.

Greg and Chris Ford, of Ponteland, Northumberland, and their children Ryan, 11, Cameron, eight, and Melissa, five, had the right idea, booking in advance at the weekend ( thus relieving themselves of the winding queues at Newcastle's Odeon Cinema at The Gate complex. Chris said: "We came to the cinema to see the first two films and were really looking forward to this one. We certainly weren't disappointed and would definitely recommend it. I'd heard it was darker and more frightening than the other films, but the children weren't scared."

"But it was more scary," interrupted Cameron. "The best bit was when the guy turned into a werewolf."

The film, the first Potter directed by Alfonso Cuaron, has been dubbed the best so far by critics, who say the story enjoys a darker edge than the previous offerings The Philosopher's Stone and The Chamber of Secrets.

It has also been given the seal of approval by J K Rowling herself, who said it was her favourite.

The film finds Harry, once again played by Daniel Radcliffe, squaring up to the sinister Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) ( a convicted killer who has escaped from Azkaban and is making his way to Hogwarts with the intention of killing him.

Holly Wilkinson, 13, of Killingworth, North Tyneside, saw the film with her seven-year-old sister Rebecca and said she thought Gary Oldman was great in the role of Sirius.

She said: "This one was definitely better than the second one and just as good as the first. I really enjoyed it and the special effects were amazing. There were a couple of things missing that were in the book, but I think the film would have been too long if they had tried to fit everything in."

Rebecca said: "I loved the bit when they used the necklace to go back in time. That was really cool. I loved it so much."

The Odeon devoted four of its 12 screens to the teenage wizard ( which were expected to be packed for all 18 of yesterday's showings.

Assistant manager Andy Welsh said: "It's unprecedented for us to have four screens showing one film. We had three open for the last Harry Potter film and other blockbusters like The Day After Tomorrow, but this is a first.

"One of the most surprising things has been the number of advance bookings. Many of today's screenings were completely sold out before we opened for business, which is very unusual.

"People have obviously been determined to be some of the first to see the latest Harry Potter instalment and we would expect to have seen between three and four thousand people coming in to watch the film by the end of the day, with similar numbers expected throughout the week."

This picture was mirrored in the region's big cinemas. Eddie Miller, a supervisor at UCI in Gateshead's MetroCentre, said: "We've got 20 showings booked for today and most of the tickets have already been sold. It's a similar picture for the rest of the week, with people booking well in advance.

"This is just such a massive film. I think its popularity will see it being screened for months."

Harry Potter factfile

Author JK Rowling's first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, was published in June 1997 to almost instant success, winning the Smarties Book Prize Gold Medal for ages 9-11 and being named the British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year.

Rowling ( first name Joanne ( wrote the first of her novels in an Edinburgh cafe where she went to escape her cold flat.

The author, previously a secretary and a French teacher, is richer than the Queen, with an estimated fortune of pounds 435m. The films of the first two books have grossed more than pounds 1bn worldwide. JK Rowling's personal website had 17 million visitors in its first week.

Daniel Radcliffe, who plays Harry, is reported to be the second-richest teenager in Britain after Prince Harry.

Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire was the fastest-selling book in history on the weekend of its publication in July 2000.

Rowling was recently listed among the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine, alongside the Pope and former South African President Nelson Mandela.

Here be no treasure, pirates warned

The Odeon cinema in Newcastle has been issued with night-vision goggles to use during screenings of the latest Harry Potter film in an effort to stamp out piracy.

Staff have been asked to use the devices to check cinemagoers are not secretly recording pirate copies of the movie using video cameras.

The night-vision goggles have been distributed to many of the cinemas showing Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban as a deterrent to anyone thinking of making an illegal copy of the film. Assistant manager Andy Welsh said: "We will be doing random checks during the screenings to make sure no-one is recording the film to take away with them and copy.

"It only takes a few seconds and when you think that it will probably be months before the film comes out on DVD, you can see why the film-makers want to try and minimise any piracy."