Potter books get the stamp of approval

THE Royal Mail is marking Harry Potter-mania with millions of stamps featuring the boy wizard.

Images from the covers of Edinburgh author JK Rowling's seven books about the young hero will appear on first-class stamps.

The crests of Hogwarts school and its four houses will also appear on five stamps sold together as a set.

The Harry Potter stamps will launch on July 17, four days before the seventh and final book - Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows - goes on sale in the UK.

The seven stamps, featuring sleeve artwork from the Bloomsbury editions of each Harry Potter book, are expected to be "highly collectible", the Royal Mail said.

The Royal Mail said it was "Proud to commemorate and celebrate an illustrious British author and a true global publishing phenomenon".