Harry Potter fans in Southampton play first Quidditch match

Harry Potter fans dodged "bludgers" and "chased the snitch" as Hampshire's only Quidditch club played its first match earlier.

The sport from JK Rowling's books has been adapted for "muggles" - non-magical people - to play.

The object of the game is to throw a ball through three hoops guarded by opponents and catch the snitch - which is represented by a person in yellow.

Southampton Quidditch Club beat Reading University team Reading Rocs 120-10.

Sarah Dorricott, Southampton's captain, said she used social media to gather players, mostly students, for the new team after seeing Quidditch played in Oxford last year.

Each team's seeker tries to grab a tag carried by the snitch, who dresses in yellow

Bruises guaranteed

The game is played by mixed teams of seven people carrying broomsticks between their legs, and includes "beaters", whose job it is to throw balls at other players.

The person acting as the snitch - a winged ball in the Harry Potter books - carries a tag and each team has a "seeker" who can score 30 points and end the game by grabbing it. In the books the snitch is worth 150 points.

Sophie Macfadyen, of Reading Rocs, said Quidditch was "full contact" and could be very physical.

"There's always going to be some bruises," she added.

The United Kingdom has more than 60 Quidditch teams and there are more than 1,000 worldwide, most of them in America, which has hosted international competitions.