Records shops are bracing themselves for a stampede from avid Gareth Gates fans as they desperately try to get their hands on his new single.

The 17-year-old pop idol takes his second plunge into the pop charts today with the release of his song Anyone Of Us (Stupid Mistake) and stores across the singing sensation's home town are expecting to be inundated with requests for the record when it goes on sale.

Andy Baxter, manager of HMV record shop on Broadway, said they would be opening early so Gareth's Bradford fans could be the first to buy the single.

He said: "We've got thousands and thousands of copies in stock and it's definitely going straight in at number one.

"Obviously Bradford is slightly different to the rest of the country because he's got a lot of fans here and we'll sell more than anyone else, but it's still going to be a huge seller everywhere.

"We fully expect it to be our second best-selling single ever, after his Unchained Melody."

Mr Baxter added that one special customer had already reserved her copy from the shop.

"Gareth's mum has already ordered her copy, it's got her name on it," he said. "I think she does get free copies from the record company but she said she likes to buy them as well!

"We just can't wait for the album now - I can see pound signs every time I think about it!"

Anyone Of Us, which was recorded in Stockholm, Sweden, is the first to be specially written for the Bradford heart-throb and is tipped by music industry insiders to rocket straight to the top of the charts on Sunday.

As well as the title track the CD single also includes exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of Gareth recording the video for the song in the romantic city of Venice.

The glossy video features the singer searching Venice's cobbled streets and piazzas for his lost love while masked characters from the city's legendary Comedia Dell'Arte festival perform around him.

Talking about the video Gareth, said: "Making the video in Venice was awesome. It's such an amazing city and really suits the romantic theme of the song. It's my first original song to be released so it means a lot to me that my fans enjoy it."