Potter toy is tops for Christmas

Is there no stopping the pure marketing magic of the boy wizard Harry Potter?

With the imminent release of his second film, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Hamley's has revealed its top 10 Christmas toys, predicting that a Lego set linked to the movie will be its biggest seller.

It is likely to surpass last year's Hogwarts Castle, which had sales worth more than £500,000 in December alone. With so many youngsters wanting another piece of Harry, toy stores will be hard-pushed to make sure they do not run out. A Hamley's spokeswoman said: "The rush to have the Harry Potter merchandise is phenomenal - we've been mobbed already and orders are flooding in."

The Harry Potter Lego set is joined on this year's list by two other big names: the Spiderman Flip and Trap game is likely to be as popular with boys as the Rapunzel Barbie is with girls.

Old-fashioned toys are still represented by Hamley's Dressing Up Trunk and World Of Magic Tricks, complete with magic wand and toy rabbit.

One of the most expensive toys in the top 10 is the Vectron Blackhawk Flying Saucer, a remote-controlled toy which lifts off the ground and flies around.