A young Bradford woman has made a "Potter" cash after a rare first edition of boy wizard Harry's adventures fetched £9,000 at auction.

Heather Buck, 20, from Wyke, bought the book for just over £10 a decade ago while she was still a schoolgirl and was given book tokens as a school prize.

The much-loved hardback copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, published by Bloomsbury in 1997, had a pre-sale estimate of £5,000 to £7,000.

But a fierce bidding war ensured the price rose to £9,000 and was won by an anonymous buyer who had left a bid with London auctioneer Bonhams.

According to the auction house, first editions of the first Harry Potter book are so valuable because of their rarity.

It is thought only 500 copies were produced during the first run, most of which were sent to school libraries, leaving about 100 for the public.

Luke Batterham, book specialist at Bonhams, said: "Basically, it is very unusual for such a modern book to be worth so much money. But I think once the last book is published and the latest film is out things might tail off, so now probably is the time.

"It is obviously up to the buyers how much a book is worth. Eventually it is up to how much people want it.

"Some collectors may think this is a vital piece in a collection of the best children's literature in the 20th and 21st centuries. If you hang on to a copy like this, you need to insure it and look after it, so people might think it's better to get rid of it.

"But there must be copies out there that aren't insured and are worth quite a lot of money."

The auctioneers said a first-edition copy of Harry Potter and the Philoso-pher's Stone signed by author JK Rowling was sold for £25,000.

Waterstone's Bradford manager Paul Doughty said "The popularity didn't really kick in until number two.

"The first one in paperback was in plentiful supply but they didn't print many in hardback because they were not expecting that level of success. Dealers now try to buy up any book which is thought to be the next Potter, but to be honest, Potter is a real one off.

"I can't think of any other book which is so recent that would bring so much money - and I think that's purely because there aren't any.

"But interest in Potter is probably peaking round about now, with the release of the film. It will probably be more of a buyer's market in a couple of years when the hype has died down a little."