Harry Potter mania peaked at midnight last night as the final wizard's tale went on sale to fans queueing at bookstores around the country.

Big retailers slashed their prices in a wave of discounting which saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows drop as low as £4.99 per copy.

After getting their hands on JK Rowling's seventh and final instalment, readers had to choose whether to skip straight to the end to discover whether Harry lives or dies.

The author, who staged a moonlight book signing at London's Natural History Museum, has revealed that some characters meet a bloody end, but their identity remained top secret until last night.

Earlier, Morrisons announced it was dropping its price to £4.99 per book to undercut rival supermarket chain Asda by one penny.

Booksellers around the UK opened at midnight and stayed open into the early hours today to cope with the Potter frenzy.

Morrisons, which opened at 8am today, will limit Harry Potter sales to one copy per shopper.

Asda will sell a maximum two copies per customer for £5 each. Tesco is also selling the book at £5 to shoppers who spend at least £50. Otherwise it will charge £10.

The rock-bottom prices compare to publisher Bloomsbury's recommended retail price of £17.99.

Independent booksellers have complained the supermarkets are selling the final Harry Potter book at a loss, leaving them unable to compete.

Woolworths will sell the book for £6.99 to customers who spend £10 or more in-store today and tomorrow.

The Waterstone's chain is charging £8.99. Nathan Thompson, children's bookseller at the company's store at the Cornmill Centre, in Darlington, said: "The launch of the last book was pretty big but this has been crazy.

"Everyone wants to get involved because it has become such a big event. They should really hold a national holiday for it."

* Don't miss The Northern Echo on Monday for author GP Taylor's review of the final Harry Potter book.