Harry Potter books to raise £40k

A HARRY Potter fanatic is hoping to net a magical £40,000 by selling off his collection of 553 first editions.

Tim Toone began his quest to find a copy of every version of city author JK Rowling's works in October 2002. The 33-year-old, from Cambridgeshire, has a collection of books in 63 languages, as well as Braille, Latin and ancient Greek versions of the books.

Roddy Newlands, of Bloomsbury Auctions, said: "No one has ever amassed such a collection. It's almost obsessive."

The auctioneer will host the sale in London on February 28. Last month, seven Potter books signed by Rowling raised almost £7000.