"Armed police surrounded a house after shots were heard. Two men have been charged with weapons offences after they were thought to be trying to sell a stolen copy of the new Harry Potter novel to a newspaper.

Police were called to Tresham Street in Kettering, Northants, on Friday morning after reports a weapon had been fired. They said a person "in possession of firearms" had tried to sell a copy of the Potter book, due out next month, stolen from author Rowling's home in Edinburgh. The pair have been released on bail.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Rowling's sixth book, is due to be released on 16 July. It has sparked huge interest because of Rowling's revelation that a major character would be killed off.

Bookmakers were forced to suspend betting on the victim's identity late last month amid fears that the manuscript had been leaked. Suspicions were aroused because of a string of bets on the death of the Hogwarts head teacher, Professor Dumbledore.

The flurry of bets came from the town of Bungay in Suffolk, where it is thought the book is being printed."

BBC News