Terry Pratchett pulled in the crowds at Burton book signing in November 2000

Fans had travelled up to five hours and queued for three to catch a glimpse of the man they had waited up to 10 years to meet. The man being author Terry Pratchett and his latest work 'The Truth'.

Despite hundreds of people queuing in Coopers Square shopping centre, in Burton, there was no screaming hysteria as Terry Pratchett addicts limited themselves to a slight gasp as they met the author of the best-selling Discworld series face-to-face, and stammered out their thanks.

The writer, once a journalist and press officer for the Atomic Energy Authority, was in Burton to sign his latest book and anything else – in print – his fans could lay their hands on.

The crowd started forming outside Ottakars book shop as soon as the shopping centre's doors opened on the November morning, each fan arrived with carrier bags packed full of their precious collection of books.

Others bought calendars, diaries, and copies of his last novel 'The Fifth Elephant' for him to dedicate, with a swift black flourish of his felt tip pen.

Unlike many top authors, Mr Pratchett liked to meet fans outside the big cities. His whirlwind UK book signing tour had started on November 8 in Dorset and would take him to 20 towns across England and Scotland before ending in Colchester. He arrived in Burton on November 17, 2000.

Accompanied by a classical guitarist, who was also selling his wares on the side, and a man dressed as an animal to raise money for Children in Need , Mr Pratchett entered the fantasy world of the book signing sessionist. After an hour, the queues which were growing ever-longer, were stopped.

Savanna Ashmore, 29, of Stapenhill took the day off work to have her books signed. She joined the queue at 12.15pm but was prepared to wait for as long as necessary.

Marie Donnelly, Ottakars manager, was overwhelmed by the response. She said: "We have had people here since 9am, people who have been waiting 10 years to meet him, people who have travelled five hours to be here – and people who are here at their fifth attempt to get their books signed."