WITH Gandalf and Harry Potter casting their spell at cinemas, Lancashire's very own witches are appearing on the small screen.

'On The Trail of the Pendle Witches' has just gone on release on video, telling the sad story of the peasants who were hounded from their homes and marched to Lancaster Castle to be hanged.

Local experts Maureen Stopforth and Sarah Lee explore the places where the witches lived, the houses where they were questioned and the journey to Lancaster through the Trough of Bowland.

The pair explore the Well Tower inside Lancaster Prison, where the witches were held 400 years ago before their brief court appearance, and then go on the last walk through Lancaster before the execution - and both wo-men say the film has given them a new kinship with the witches.

"The Pendle Witches are probably the best known victims of a witch hunt in the world and their trial the best documented," says the film's writer and director Peter Underwood.

"It was irresistible to take a look at their history."

The video is available now from local tourist information centres.