IF North Yorkshire Moors Railway bosses are successful in their bid for a Harry Potter-based attraction, the gravy train really will ride into Ryedale. Scenes from the first of the movie adaptations of JK Rowling's books have already been filmed at Pickering station. Six more are lined up.

Local people must brace themselves for what may be to come, however. Turning Pickering into Potter Country will have its drawbacks. Think of the 'Heartbeat effect' on once-peaceful Goathland and expand it by global proportions. That is the sort of attention the region could be courting.