SPECIAL midnight screenings for excited Harry Potter fans are to be held at cinemas across East Lancashire tonight.

The cinemas in Accrington, Blackburn, Burnley and Longridge are bracing themselves for an onslaught of movie lovers who cannot wait to see the last adventure of the ‘boy wizard’.

All have screenings starting just after midnight tonight.

Staff at the Blackburn and Accrington Vue cinemas said they had been preparing for weeks for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final instalment of the most successful film franchise ever.

Some showings will consist of back-to-back sittings of the first and second part of the Deathly Hallows for the most devoted of fans.

Manager of Blackburn Vue Jenny Coggin said: “We are going to be dealing with real crowds.

"We’ve sold over a thousand tickets for the first screenings, which is quite a lot for three billings.

“It’s the first Harry Potter film to be shown in 3D, so there will be a lot of interest.

"We expect to see record sales.”

The Apollo Cinema at Burnley has also taken the initiative to show the film in 3D at just after midnight.

It will be showing it a total of 93 times over the next week, with 15 showings on Friday alone.

It has also shown a different Harry Potter film every day this week in the run up to the release.

The Palace Cinema in Market Place, Longridge will be screening it three times on Friday, including the show at one minute past midnight.

Since the first film 10 years ago Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson have become household names.