As the final Harry Potter book comes out tomorrow amid a frenzy of publicity, Lindsay Jennings visits a real life magic school in Middlesbrough

IT is difficult concentrating while talking to Eddie Loughran. In the background, his magician colleague, Iain Jae, is rummaging around in a holdall, bringing out lengths of rope and medieval-looking chains that wouldn't look out of place around the wrists of a Death Row prisoner.

We are in the bar of Middlesbrough's Southland Centre with the Channel 4 news blaring out of a huge screen. Pumping dance music can be heard from the next door aerobics class and there are half a dozen people sipping lager who are trying not to stare at Iain but cannot help themselves. The chains which bind his wrist tightly jangle in a jolly kind of way before he appears literally to shake them off.

"This is one of the problems with magic," says Iain good-naturedly, as he picks up the chains.

"When you have the toys out you just end up playing."

The Middlesbrough Circle of Magicians started in 1954 and meets twice a month at the Southland Centre.

But today is about promoting their magic school, known as the preparatory group, for its younger members. A rarity in magic circles, the school, understandably, is plugging in to the tidal wave of publicity over the last Harry Potter book.

"I think a lot of circles are very keen to make sure magicians keep their secrets because if people find out how it's done it spoils the illusion," says Iain, of Hartlepool. "But you also need to have people coming through and we're keen to nurture them and show them how to do it properly."

As well as the magic school, the circle carries out demonstrations in schools, puts on shows and visits other circle groups. The skills any budding Harry Potters need include the confidence to talk to people and the ability to enjoy "a bit of showmanship"

- and, presumably, the nerve to counter all those people determined to find out how you do your tricks.

Eddie, 61, the secretary of the group, who goes under the name Jasper the Musician, says: "I always wear short sleeved shirts and a waistcoat and they still end up shouting it's gone up your sleeve'.

I've even had people say it's not really blown up' when I've gone to put a needle through a blown up balloon. But it's all good fun."

The young magicians begin with standard magic, disappearing cards etc, and learn the art of stagecraft and proper routines. Budding Hermiones are also welcome to attend.

Two of its pupils are Stephen Knight, 14, of Redcar, and Patrick Laville, ten, of Middlesbrough.

Stephen's nickname at school is The Magic Man and he regularly ends up in the playground with dozens of children urging him to do some magic.

"I've had a crowd every day for the last week," he says. I like doing close up tricks with cards and different props and a bit of comedy too. I find magic more entertaining when there's comedy in it.

"When I first came about four months ago I thought I knew a lot, but since then I've learnt so much and everyone can help you. Harry Potter might do wizardry and spells but we do real magic."

Stephen would love to make a living out of his magic one day and there's certainly a market for it - weddings, corporate events, birthday parties just for starters. (One of the circle's members was recently offered £650 for a night's magic.) He'd also like to team up with Patrick and the duo wouldn't mind being on television either.

"Yes, definitely," he says when asked if they'd have a latter day Debbie McGee.

Patrick, who looks uncannily like a miniature David Blaine, has always loved magic and is the youngest member of the group.

"I practise 24/7, probably card magic the most,"

he says. "I sit there in front of a mirror for two hours every night."

But his efforts appear to be paying off as he gets out a deck of cards to demonstrate a trick.

"I love cards but my parents never let me have a pack of them, so I thought I'd make my own," he begins seriously. He proceeds to show the amateurish set which look as if they've been drawn by a child before turning them into a recognisable pack of cards and back again with a couple of flicks of his wrist. He's slick and utterly professional.

The magic continues when Stephen deftly makes two spongy balls appear in my hand when once there was one. Then he goes to wrap Iain in thick rope, more commonly used to moor ships.

As well as the escapology side of magic, as a psychologist and clinical hypnotist, Iain explains he's also interested in mentalism', the kind of mind tricks TV magician Derren Brown is famous for.

He can, for example, walk over hot coals and shards of glass without hurting himself.

"There's a psychological process that you tune yourself into it," says Iain, who took up magic as an enjoyable way to keep his mind active. "It's a combination of that and self hypnosis, which means your feet don't bleed when you're walking over broken glass."

His tricks include freeing himself from handcuffs within ten to 15 seconds and he'd love, one day, to try escaping from a metal straitjacket where the escapee is literally bolted in.

"I enjoy the sheer challenge of being presented with something that's absolutely impossible to do,"

he says, adding to Stephen: "Come on, really tight.

Ouch. That's the big danger of this, you can end up with rope burns."

When he's suitably trussed up, it takes Iain a few seconds of hopping and jiggling about to free himself.

But for the blare of Casualty on the television, the bar has gone quiet and half a dozen pairs of eyes are transfixed watching Iain again.

The conversation swings around to Paul Daniels, who's a member of The Middlesbrough Circle of Magicians. There is nothing but praise for him and, perhaps surprisingly, enthusiasm from the two younger members. David Blaine, meanwhile, is considered a good magician who has gone "off on a tangent"

with some of his stunts.

As the chains are packed away and the rope goes back in the bag, Iain says finally that they don't mind the connections with the famous boy wizard.

It all helps to promote the real magic.

"The Harry Potter books and films have been a real boon for magic. It's brought not only younger people but quite a few adults," he says. "The whole idea is to entertain. It would be pointless doing magic if you weren't going to entertain people."

■ To join magic school, where youngsters must be a minimum age of 13, log onto www.middlesbroughcircleofmagicians.co.uk, email Neil McQuade on nmcq@larkrise100.freeserve.co.uk or contact him on 07967-158932. There are magic circles across the region including Darlington Magic Circle (www.thedarlingtonmagiccircle.co.uk or 01325-352341 contact Nick Richmond) and the Durham Society of Magicians c/o Kevin Creaghan creaghan@btinternet.com.