The dedicated Potter fan had queued up in fancy dress at Braehead to be one of the first to get her hands on the new Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book at midnight on Friday.

Because her outfit was so good, Lauren (12), of Ellangowan Court, Milngavie, was chosen by staff at Waterstones bookstore to help them unveil their massive stock of the new book.

Along with another youngster, Christopher McNeil, from Paisley, Lauren ripped the wrapping off a giant pile of books to start sales.

Lauren, who is going to attend Douglas Academy after the summer holidays, said: "I love all the magic in Harry Potter. I've read all the books and I've seen all the movies.

"It was exciting to be able to pull the wrapping off all the new books."
Lauren was joined by 1,400 other Harry Potter fans — many of them also in fancy dress — waiting to buy their copy of the new book.

The queue stretched down the side of the building towards the Clydebuilt maritime museum, across to the other side of the pavement, back up again and along the entire length of the bus shelters.

Waterstones manager Gordon Alexander revealed that people were still joining the queue at 2am.

He said: "It's been absolutely amazing. I haven't seen anything like this before."

Braehead's general manager Peter Beagley said: "The number of people who turned up to queue for the new Harry Potter book has been fantastic.

"They were able to queue in a comfortable and safe environment and with so many people in fancy dress, everyone had a good time joining in the fun of the occasion."