Potter book mistakenly sold in NY

A New York shop accidentally sold a copy of the hotly anticipated Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince prior to Saturday's stringent release date - and have ordered the customer to return it.

Mandy Muldoon and her son Sylum Mastropaolo, nine, saw the JK Rowling book for sale at the pharmacy and immediately bought it.

But store manager Christine Ekblom is convinced this was the only copy sold, and quickly removed the embargoed publications from public reach.

She explains: "They were pulled off an hour after they were put on the shelves. It was a mistake."

Publishers have attempted to keep the latest release in the fantasy saga top secret - but they were foiled last Thursday when fourteen books were inadvertently sold in Canada.

A judge commanded the customers to stay silent about the book, and forbade them to sell it or even look at it before Saturday.